tihvaxy  of  ti^e  trheolo^ical  ^tminavy 

PRINCETON  •  NEW  JERSEY 
PRESENTED  BY 

Prof.  C,R.  Erdman 

BR  149  .M6  1885 
Moffat,  James  Clement,  1811' 
1890.  I 

Outlines  of  church  history  I 


OUTLINES  OF  CHURCH  HISTORY 


1*     MAR  25  1910 


•(/^ 


<S^ 


FOR    THE    USE    OF   THE    MIDDLE    GLASS 
IN    THE    THEOLOGICAL    SEMINARY    IN    PRINCETON. 


JAMES  C.  MOFFAT, 


HELENA    PROFESSOR    OF   CHURCH    HISTORY. 


From  the  birth  of  Christ  to  A.  D.  1648. 


A  NEW  EDITION. 


®be  |1nntcton  |1rrss: 
C.  S.  Robinson  &  Co.,  Princeton.  N.  J. 

1885. 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year    1875,  by 

James  C.  Moffat, 

in  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


OUTLINES  OF  CHURCH  HISTORY. 


RELIGIOUS    STATE    OF    THE    WORLD    AT     THE    APPEARANCE   OF 

CHRIST. 

Jesus,  who  is  called  the  Christ,  was  born  in  Judea, 
shortly  before  the  death  of  Herod  I.,  which  took  place 
between  March  13th  and  April  4th,  in  the  year  750  U.  C. 
The  birth  of  Jesus  could  not  have  been  later  than  two  or 
three  months  before  that  event ;  it  may  have  been  earlier 
by  one,  or  even  two  years.  Our  common  era  assumes  it 
to  have  occurred  in  754  U.  C,  at  least  four  years  too  late. 
The  day  of  his  birth  is  not  determined. 

At  that  epoch,  the  state  of  religion  in  the  west  of 
Asia  and  Europe  was  one  of  great  depression.  Rational- 
ism had  separated  between  faith  and  intelligence ;  east  of 
the  Indus  it  had  constructed  two  great  philosophical  reli- 
gions ;  west  of  the  Tigris  it  had  set  up  philosophy  as  a 
substitute  for  religion,  and  carried  the  convictions  of  the 
greater  number  of  the  educated.  Confucianism  and  Buddh- 
ism, as  religions,  were  accepted  by  vast  multitudes;  Greek 
philosophy  did  not  profess  to  be  religion,  and  scorned  the 
ignorant  populace.  Between  the  Indus  and  the  Tigris 
ruled  the  semi-barbarous  Parthian,  maintaining  a  degener- 
ate Magism.  Avestan  monotheism  was  almost  buried  out 
of  sight  under  that  dominion.  The  pure  faith  of  the 
Hebrews  was  confined  to  few. 

Everywhere  the  religious  condition  of  the  multitudes, 
to  whom  philosophy  or  philosophical  religion  was  inac- 
cessible, was  exceedingly  degraded. 

All  the  countries  lying  around  the  Mediterranean  were 
under  one  ruler.  Rome  had  within  the  preceding  half 
century    united   the  ruder  west  of  Europe  to  the  decaying 


civilizations  on  the  eastern  coasts.  Parthian  barbarism  lay- 
as  a  barrier  between  that  new  empire  and  the  culture  of 
the  further  east. 

Civilization  in  China  and  India  was  bound  up  in  tlieir 
great  philosophical  religions;  in  the  west  it  reposed  upon 
philosophy;  while  good  order  and  security  were  main- 
tained by  Roman  legislation  and  arms. 

Great  facilities  for  the  spread  of  knowledge  were  fur- 
nished by  Roman  dominion  ;  by  the  protection  it  afforded, 
the  freedom  of  inter-communication  which  it  promoted,  by 
one  common  language  of  business,  and  one  of  polite  liter- 
ature. With  a  knowledge  of  Latin  and  Greek  the  apos- 
tles could  travel  over  the  empire  and  find  an  intelligent 
audience  in  every  city.  The  wisdom  and  culture  of  the 
east  were  easily,  through  the  common  heart  of  Rome,  ex- 
tended to  the  strong  but  rugged  nations  of  the  west.  And 
the  government  of  that  vast  territory  was,  at  the  time  of 
the  Saviour's  birth,  in  the  hands  of  one  man,  whose  policy 
was  peace. 

But  there  was  little  hope  or  enterprise  among  the 
nations.  Their  spirit  had  been  crushed.  Upon  the  wisest 
heathen  a  weight  of  despondency  rested,  a  sense  of  want, 
which  no  earthly  possession  could  fill. 

Practical  morals  were  at  that  time  among  the  heathen 
exceedingly  base,  and  basest  in  the  highest  places  of  society ; 
not  because  men  did  not  know  the  difference  between 
right  and  wrong,  but  because  they  were  without  sufficient 
persuasives  to  righteousness.  The  example  of  their  gods 
could  be  adduced  to  justify  or  palliate  any  vice  or  criine. 
Their  great  want  was  the  want  of  a  Saviour. 

The  Jews  were  still  in  possession  of  their  own  land, 
but  subjects  of  the  Roman  Empire,  to  which  they  had 
recently  been  annexed.  Jews  of  pure  descent  occupied 
chiefly  the  southern  part  of  the  country;  Samaritans  the 
middle,  and  Galileans  the  north,  both  being  of  mixed  des- 
cent;  and  the  eastern  side  of  Jordan,  divided  into  Ituiea, 
Trachonites,  and  Perea,  was  also  held  by  a  heterogeneous 
population. 

Pure  Jews  were  of  three  religious  sects  :  Pharisees, 
who  were  ritualists  ;  Sadducees,  rationalists  ;  and  Essenes, 
who  were  Ascetics.     Moreover,  Jews  were  then  resident  in 


^   <^^=e^.oi  ^-..^/..,,v^^.._._...c:::^  u...^  ^V<^  ^wUj 

zr^auUZ     -^cZ^    -iC,^    -^e<^:fc3(bQe     <    '^    or^^U.  ^^4  e.rx^-_^ 


^^,_^,^^jji_    Aa.e..^Usw-    -XvClw:^^-^!^. 


X-sii^ 


^    y  "t:^  &^^fJ^^~ 


^.<j^JJlSL_ 


y      ^  /-^      ■^  <;^j   > 


5 

almost  every  nation  ;  and  in  their  Synagogues  the  scrip- 
tures of  promise  were  read.  Among  both  Jews  and  gen- 
tiles there  prevailed  an  expectancy  of  some  great  person- 
age about  to  appear  with  blessing  to  mankind. 

,  CHRIST. 

The  Saviour  was  of  pure  Hebrew  genealogy,  but  made 
his  residence  chiefly  among  the  half  gentiles  of  Galilee. 
His  public  ministry  commenced  with  his  baptism,  when  he 
was  about  thirty  years  of  age,  and  extended  to  about  three 
years  and  six  months. 

The  social  condition  in  which  he  was  born  was  lowly, 
and  yet,  as  both  his  mother  and  foster  father  were  descended 
of  the  ancient  Kings  of  Judea,  he  was  a  son  of  David 
according  to  the  flesh. 

Historically,  Christ  appeared  as  a  teacher,  in  the  crown- 
ing period  of  ancient  learning  and  culture.  Some  things 
in  his  teachings  were  peculiar  to  himself 

1.  He  did  not  present  what  he  taught  as  conclusions 
which  he  had  arrived  at  ;  neither  as  things  discovered,  nor 
as  certified  by  thinking  in  reference  to  them,  but  purely  as 
revelation. 

2.  He  did  not  reveal  as  having  learned  from  some 
higher  intelligence,  but  as  speaking  of  his  own  original 
knowledge. 

3.  His  method  was  of  great  breadth,  calling  in  the 
exercise  of  all  faculties  of  the  human  mind,  and  never  seek- 
ing to  simplify  by  sinking  one  faculty  in  another. 

4.  His  instructions  have  eminently  the  mark  of  holiness, 
n.  As  to  their  substance,  they  contained    intelligence 

from  the  councils  of  God  ;  touching  the  nature  of  God's 
exi.^tence,  his  designs  for  man,  and  some  of  his  dealings 
with  higher  beings. 

2.  They  laid  open  the  whole  plan  of  redemption  ;  and 
the  love  of  God  to  the  world. 

3.  They  taught  the  purest,  most  summary  and  most 
effectual  principles  of  morals  ;  and  the  way  whereby  man 
is  to  be  accepted  as  holy  with  God  :  and  of  Jesus  himself 
that  he  was  the  sacrifice  for  sin.  the  mediator  of  a  new 
covenant,  and  the  eternal  Son  of  God. 


III.  Jesus  addressed  the  understanding  of  men,  but 
demanded  of  his  followers  first  of  all  an  act  of  the  heart ; 
namely,  that  they  should  trust  in  him,  and  love  him  and  one 
another.  His  doctrines  have  been  accompanied  with  a  power 
to  carry  them  directly  to  the  heart  and  change  the  state  of 
its  affections.  Thereby,  notwithstanding  their  depth  and 
height,  they  are  adapted  to  all  grades  ,of  capacity. 

IV.  The  operation  and  effect  of  His  teaching  are  found 
in  practice  to  be  what  he  said  they  would  be. 

V.  His  miracles  were  essential  to  his  instructions 
touching  himself  as  the  Son  of  God,  and  his  death  and 
resurrection,  the  supreme  triumph  which  he  came  to  effect, 
and  all,  taken  together,  make  a  consistent  whole,  which  is 
the  Gospel. 

His  last  commission  to  his  disciples  was  to  teach  all 
nations.  The  progress  of  that  teaching  among  men  is  the 
history  of  the  church. 

VI.  Christ  presented  himself  as  the  subject  of  his 
Gospel,  and  the  teacher  of  its  doctrines  ;  but  assigned  to 
his  disciples,  under  the  Holy  Spirit,  the  task  of  organizing 
their  own  society — which  is  the  church.  Of  that  the  be- 
ginning was  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit  on  the  day  of 
the  first  Pentecost  after  the  ascension. 

CHURCH  HISTORY. 

The  History  of  the  Christian  Church  since  that  date 
is  divided,  in  view  of  its  own  progress,  into  four  great 
periods.  The  first  is  that  of  the  apostolic  history,  in  the 
end  of  which  the  church  ceased  to  enjoy  the  presence  and 
counsels  of  inspired  men  who  had  seen  the  Lord.  Second 
is  that  which  ended  in  conferring  upon  Christians  external 
supremacy  in  the  Roman  empire,  extending  from  about 
the  beginning  of  the  second  century  until  the  year  324  A. 
D.  The  third  is  that  of  union  with  the  state,  and  bondage 
to  the  rule  of  legalism  within  the  pale  of  the  church,  and 
extends  until  the  first  successful  efforts  for  liberation,  in 
and  about  15  17  A.  D. 

This  long  period  contains  others  of  great  importance, 
as  that  which  was  marked  by  the  Nestorian  schism  in  43  i 
A.  D. ;  that  which  determined  the  separation  of  the  great 


Nk_.     /  0,  0  o  o  ,  Use  o      /a 


Htr^L   ^^Jb^    -^--^^    -^^.:...:^--^-' 


/ 


./^     o^cK^^  irttsx^  _    /i€^-<^^    d-    G^^L...uaUU>j;.'  . 


-HL, 


group  of  Monophysite  churches,  in  553  A.  D. ;  the  terrible 
loss  to  the  churches  of  the  east  and  south  in  the  first 
Mohammedan  invasions,  which  began  in  632  A.  D.,  and 
the  separation  of  the  church  into  the  eastern  and  western 
in  the  year  1054. 

The  fourth  great  period  is  that  of  the  general  conflict 
for  and  against  the  free  publication  of  the  Gospel,  and  its 
sole  authority  in  the  church ;  which  is  still  going  on. 

Upon  more  minute  inspection,  we  shall  find  it  neces- 
sary to  divide  each  of  our  periods  into  several  subordinate 
sections,  on  the  same  principle,  but  drawn  more  closely 
from  operations  of  the  inner  life  of  christians. 

FIRST    PERIOD. 
FROM    PENTECOST,    A.    D.  2g   TO   A.  D.    lOO. 

Apostolic  History  consists  of  five  sections,  marked  by 
their  respective  steps  of  progress  in  the  publication  of  the 
Gospel  ;  namely,  organization  of  the  church  in  Jerusalem; 
preaching  the  Gospel  to  the  Samaritans  and  elsewhere  in 
Palestine;  first  mission  to  the  gentiles ;  the  overthrow  of 
Jewish  nationality,  and  the  completing  of  the  sacred  canon, 
and  death  of  the  last  inspired  teacher. 

I. 

The  first  began  with  the  day  of  Pentecost  and  closed 
with  the  death  of  Stephen.  In  it  were  witnessed  the  des- 
cent of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  the  transforming  effect  upon 
the  character  of  the  apostles,  the  sermon  of  Peter,  with 
the  addition  of  three  thousand  to  the  number  of  the  be- 
lievers in  that  one  day.  They  all  resided  in  Jerusalem, 
formed  one  society,  and  had  all  things  in  common.  At 
first  their  social  affairs,  both  spiritual  and  temporal,  were 
conducted  by  the  apostles.  In  the  separation  of  those  two 
classes  of  duties,  and  the  appointment  of  deacons  to  super- 
intend the  latter,  the  primitive  form  of  the  church  in  Jeru- 
salem was  completed.  All  the  members  of  that  church 
were  Jews,  or  Jewish  proselytes,  and  thought  that  the  Gos- 
pel belonged  to  only  the  children  of  Abraham,  and  those 


adopted  into  their  number.  The  apostles  were  endowed 
with  supernatural  gifts  tor  the  planting  of  the  church  in 
its  worship,  government  and  instruction. 

For  a  meeting  of  the  whole,  they  used  the  court  of  the 
temple,  but  they  also  met  in  separate  companies  as  occa- 
sion required,  in  synagogues,  and  in  private  houses  ;  and 
the  synagogue,  not  the  temple,  furnished  the  basis  of  their 
worship  and  government.  In  the  sense  of  a  common  or- 
ganization, they  were  one  church  ;  in  the  sense  of  congre- 
gations, they  were  sometimes  several.  Provision  for  the 
poor  among  them  was  accepted  as  a  duty,  and  those  who 
had  property  contributed  freely  to  the  wants  of  the  rest. 

Enemies  arrayed  themselves  against  the  church  from 
the  first;  Saducees  because  they  preached  the  resurrection, 
and  Pharisees  on  the  ground  of  disorder.  The  caution  and 
tolerance  recommended  by  Gamaliel  prevailed  for  a  time  in 
the  council.  But  persecution  broke  out  again  with  great 
severity  upon  the  death  of  Stephen,  and  the  members  of 
the  church  were  scattered  abroad. 


The  dispersion  was  at  first  through  the  regions  of 
Judea  and  Samaria,  but  very  soon  it  extended  also  to  the 
Gentiles.  The  apostles  lingered  longer  in  Jerusalem, mak- 
ing that  city  the  centre  of  operations.  Philip,  the  evan- 
gelist, was  the  first  to  carry  the  Gospel  to  Samaritans. 
From  Jerusalem  two  apostle^,  Pefer  and  John,  were  sent 
to  inquire  into  that  work,  and  being  satisfied  with  the  re- 
ality of  the  conversions,  rejoiced  together  with  their  fellow 
apostles,  in  such  a  way  as  shows  that  the  fact  was  more 
than  they  had  expected.  Peter's  experience  in  the  case  of 
Cornelius  prepared  them  for  preaching  the  Gospel  to  the 
Gentiles.  The  Roman  Centurion  and  all  assembled  in  his 
house  were  received  into  the  church  by  profession  of  faith 
and  baptism,  Acts  x.  44-48  ;  xv.  6-1 1.  A  new  apostle  was 
miraculously  called  for  the  express  purpose  of  preaching 
to  the  Gentiles.  Paul's  conversion  occurred  in  or  about 
the  year  37.  After  having  preached  in  Damascus,  he  spent 
some  time  in  Arabia,  visited  Jerusalem,  and  returned  to 
his  native  city  Tarsus. 


'^;4^;C5^  X,  a^  ^..^ — ff-_  ^-^<LSL. .'' 

J^'v^     c^lSL^u^SlA.     cx^^^-^^-^^w^-     v^nrx/^X^y^^U^   Qui. 
^    wot    oOt     w^l.j^^_     ^  .^^.e^  ,;  .^^^.^cXjlA. 

-c-       ^Jjl^   (Jl  £v^^€a^  Ar:-eje.     c^v>^— ^  - 


.^|4>.w,...^:;Ux._   ^    --t^*-^  c^-^^wi^    -A^-iL;,      t^-^^^^ 


ca 


i4^'     '"^c^  v.^<r.^  '/u^u^M^  'j^^  ^aW^  -^  --  'h"^^^ 
dl7ni'<  ^fc=^.x.X7  v-^s^M.   c.tvvjU<    -^cx^    ^t;t>-v^. 


y.    >^  tl^«^   ;^;;^«^.  U™i^^ -^-A   ^^ 


9 

Meanwhile  some  of  the  dispersed  came  to  Antioch 
and  preached  to  the  Greeks,  and  a  great  number  believed. 
Hearing  of  that,  the  apostles  at  Jerusalem  sent  Barnabas 
to  visit  Antioch,  who,  when  he  had  come  and  had  seen  the 
grace  of  God,  was  greatly  rejoiced  ;  and  going  to  Tarsus 
he  found  Paul,  and  brought  him  to  Antioch,  where  they 
both  labored  for  a  whole  year.  In  that  great  city,  where 
strict  Jews  with  their  Hellenistic  brethren,  and  Heathen, 
with  proselytes  to  Judaism,  lived  in  close  neighborhood, 
the  views  of  the  disciples  were  further  enlightened  touch- 
ing the  liberality  of  the  Gospel.  Consequently  Antioch 
was  the  place  where  the  disciples  were  first  regarded  as 
other  than  a  Hebrew  sect,  and  first  received  the  name 
Christian. 

The  church,  which  in  the  first  of  these  two  brief  peri- 
ods was  but  one  community,  was  in  the  second  dispersed 
and  formed  into  many.  Jewish  exclusiveness  in  the  minds 
of  the  disciples  was  overcome  so  far  as  to  admit  preaching 
of  the  Gospel  to  Samaritans  and  Gentiles.  But  all  were 
still  expected  to  submit  to  Jewish  rites. 

The  rapid  increase  of  the  number  of  believers  was  a 
fact  which  most  deeply  impressed  the  writer  of  their  early 
history.      He  recurs  to  it  in  different  connections. 

The  creed  of  the  church  was  contained  in  the  simple 
apostolic  injunction,  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and 
thou  shalt  be  saved. 

It  was  in  the  latter  years  of  the  Emperor  Tiberius 
that  the  church  was  formed  in  Jerusalem.  The  beginning 
of  its  dispersion  took  place  perhaps  in  the  22nd  year  of 
that  reign.  The  second  period  lasted  through  the  reign  of 
Caligula  and  to  the  fourth  year  of  Claudius.  In  41  A.  D. 
Herod  Agrippa  was  elevated  by  Claudius  to  be  king  of  all 
Palestine.  He  died  in  44.  The  country  was  again  treated 
as  a  province,  and  governed  from  Rome. 

3- 

In  the  history  of  the  apostolic  church  the  third  sec- 
tion extends  from  the  first  regularly  appointed  mission  to 
the  Gentiles,  about  the  year  45,  until  the  arrival  of  Paul  at 
Rome,  in  61. 


10 

After  the  Jews,  the  first  opponents  whom  Christianity 
met  in  argument  were  the  Greeks,  keen  and  logical,  and  it 
became  of  importance  for  its  preachers  to  be  versed  in  that 
learning  from  which  those  opponents  drew  their  arguments. 
Jews  alone  were  yet  systematically  arrayed  against  the 
Gospel.  Antioch  furnished  a  refuge  for  the  disciples  where 
they  were  safe  from  that  persecution,  and  a  favorable  cen- 
ter of  operations  among  the  heathen.  A  short  time  sub- 
sequent to  the  year  44,  most  likely  45,  a  number  of 
pious  men,  prophets  and  teachers  residing  at  Antioch,  as 
they  mini.stered  to  the  Lord  and  fasted,  were  directed  by 
the  Holy  Spirit  to  set  apart  Barnabas  and  Saul  to  the  work 
of  missions  among  the  Gentiles.  So  when  they  had  fasted 
and  prayed  and  laid  their  hands  upon  the  missionaries,  they 
sent  them  away.  The  gospel  was  preached  in  every  direc- 
tion from  Jerusalem  ;  but  this,  the  most  important  of  apos- 
tolic missions,  was  addressed  to  the  heart  of  the  highest 
civilization. 

The  missionaries  were  well  qualified  for  their  task. 
Both  of  pure  Hebrew  blood,  they  were  both  natives  of 
Greek  countries,  and  had  enjoyed  both  Greek  and  Hebrew 
culture.  From  Antioch  they  proceeded  to  Seleucia,  took 
ship  to  Cyprus,  visited  the  cities  Salamis  and  Paphos.  in 
the  latter  of  which  the  Roman  Proconsul,  Sergius  Paulus, 
was  converted,  and  the  name  of  the  apostle  ceases  to  be 
Saul,  and  becomes  Paul.  Thence  they  sailed  to  the  coast 
of  Asia  Minor.  Here  John  Mark  who  had  attended  them 
from  Antioch  forsook  them  and  returned.  Landing  at 
Perga  they  proceeded  through  Pamphylia  to  Antioch  in 
Pisidia,  Thence  eastward  to  Iconium,  then  to  Lystra  and 
to  Derbe.  At  Lystra  they  with  difficulty  restrained  the 
people  from  offering  them  worship,  until  the  Jews  stirred 
up  opposition  to  them.  From  Derbe  they  retraced  their 
steps  to  Lystra,  Iconium,  Antioch,  Perga,  and  Atalia,  and 
thence  to  Antioch  in  Syria.  There  they  reported  to  the 
church  what  God  had  wrought  by  them  ;  and  abode  a  long 
time  with  the  disciples. 

Then  arose  a  controversy  about  what  was  to  be  done 
with  heathen  converts,  whether  it  was,  or  was  not  neces- 
sary for  them  to  be  circumcised  and  to  keep  the  law  of  Moses. 
As  some  persons  from  Judaea  disturbed  the  church  in  An- 


/Ue   -^  a    yC^^-iz-    , -t^-^^-^ci^t^J.a-.^  ^      Kii-^^.^  o^._Xo.   c..->^*i_;^ 

'      C^O^-^IM^        -.r^SuX     -^^-fVi^     J^^^        '^^^'^    K..f-uv.^!^,V^ 


y        "^l^tTT^     a.-X>jv-Xjpl     "j^^/^-^A-i?    -aJ2--j:<      U-^_cv^^  /a--iA^.-a.    "^  o 


«^,^^    ^^-t^    ^v£.Je^  ^s^.,^,,..^   ^   ^^^^„j^^  oXJI^qJ^  jv^ 


11 

tioch  by  arguing  the  affirmative  of  that  question,  it  was 
resolved  that  Paul  and  Barnabas  and  certain  others  should 
go  to  Jerusalem  and  consult  the  apostles  and  elders.  In 
Jerusalem  also  the  controversy  was  warm.  Certain  Phari- 
sees who  had  become  christian  were  very  earnest  for  re- 
taining the  law.  In  the  meeting  which  took  place  there 
was  difference  of  opinion  ;  but  after  Paul,  Balnabas  and 
Peter  had  spoken,  recounting  what  God  had  done  for  Gen- 
tiles through  them,  James  proposed  a  resolution  which  was 
agreed  to,  that  Gentile  converts  should  abstain  from  meats 
ottered  to  idols,  from  blood,  from  things  strangled  and  from 
fornication,  and  that  beyond  this  no  other  burden  should  be 
imposed  upon  them.  Silas  and  Judas  Barsabas  were  ap- 
pointed to  accompany  Paul  and  Barnabas  to  Antioch,  and 
communicate  the  message  which  they  also  carried  in  writ- 
ing. 

Still  this  was  not  complete  emancipation  from  legal- 
ism. The  whole  ministry  of  Paul  was  needed  to  effect 
that,  by  demonstrating  that  salvation  is  by  faith  in  Christ 
alone,  and  that  the  believer  is  no  longer  under  the  law,  but 
under  grace.  The  meeting,  or  council  at  Jerusalem  occur- 
red in  the  year  50  or  51,  most  probably  the  former. 

Soon  afterward  Paul  and  Barnabas  undertook  another 
missionary  tour,  but  did  not  go  together.  Barnabas  took 
Mark  as  his  companion  and  went  to  Cyprus  ;  i'aul  took 
Silas  and  went  through  Northern  Syria,  round  the  gulf  of 
Issus  into  Cilicia,  confirming  the  churches.  Thence  to 
Derbe,  Lystra  and  Iconium,  stations  on  his  former  tour; 
then  through  Phrygia  and  Galatia  to  Mysia.  At  Troas  he 
had  the  vision  of  a  man  of  Macedonia,  saying,  "  come  over 
into  Macedonia,  and  help  us."  Accordingly  he  and  his 
companions  sailed  over  to  Neapolis,  and  thence  proceeded 
to  Philippi.  In  that  city  after  being  imprisoned,  miracul- 
ously delivered,  the  conversion  of  the  jailor,  and  vindica- 
tion of  their  own  character  as  Roman  citizens,  the  mis- 
sionaries planted  a  church,  and  proceeding  westward  vis- 
ited Thessalonica  and  Ber<-Ea.  There  meeting  with  oppo- 
sition from  Jews,  Paul  went  to  Athens,  then  to  Corinth, 
where  his  companions,  left  at  Beraea,  came  to  him.  After 
laboring  about  eighteen  months  at  Corinth  he  sailed  to 
Ephesus,  then  to  Caisarea  in  Palestine,  then  to  Jerusalem 


12 

to  observe  the  Pentecost,  and  returned  to  Antioch  in  course 
of  the  summer. 

Paul's  third  missionary  tour  was  entered  on  in  Autumn 
of  same  year  in  which  he  returned  from  the  second.  It 
pursued  nearly  the  same  course,  but  more  time  was  spent 
in  Phrygia  and  Galatia,and  its  direction  was  through  Pro- 
consular A'sia  to  Ephesus.  In  that  city  Paul  remained 
nearly  three  years,  so  that  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  pro- 
vince heard  the  word  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  In  the  year  57 
lie  proceeded  byVthe  way  of  Tross,  to^  Macedonia  and  in 
the  Winter  visited  Corinth,  spent  three  months  there  and 
in  the  vicinity.  Next  Spring  he  set  forth  on  his  return  by 
way  of  Macedonia  ;  thence  across  the  yEgean  sea  to  Troas  ; 
then  from  point  to  point  down  the  Asiatic  coast  to  Miletus 
where  he  had  his  last  interview  with  the  presbyters  of  Ephe- 
sus ;  then,  by  way  of  Rhodes  and  Patara,  to  Tyre,  to  Pto- 
lemais  and  Csesarea,  and  finally  to  Jerusalem. 

At  Jerusalem  a  violent  Jewish  party  charged  him 
with  teaching  even  Jews  abroad  to  disregard  the  laws  of 
Moses,  and  stirred  up  a  mob,  from  which  Paul  was  rescued 
by  the  Roman  officer  in  command  of  the  garrison  in  the 
city.  This  led  to  his  trial  before  Felix,  Festus  and  Agrippa 
and  his  appeal  to  Caesar.  At  Csesarea  he  was  kept  a  pris- 
oner during  the  whole  of  the  year  59,  and  the  greater  part 
of  the  next.  Late  in  the  Autumn  of  60,  he  was  sent 
to  Rome,  but  was  delayed  until  the  Winter  .set  in.  In 
crossing  the  Ionian  sea  he  suffered  shipwreck,  was  con- 
strained to  spend  three  months  on  the  island  of  Malta,  and 
did  not  reach  Rome  until  the  Spring  of  61. 

The  officer  who  had  charge  o(  Paul  and  the  other 
prisoners   treated  him  with  great  courtesy  and  indulgence. 

At  Rome,  he  was  received  with  .similar  consideration, 
and  was  suffered  to  dwell  two  years  in  a  house  hired  by 
himself,  freely  preaching  the  gospel  to  all  who  visited  him. 

Paul's  efforts  had  been  addressed  chiefly  to  the  great 
seats  of  government  and  moral  influence.  Antioch  was 
his  starting  point,  and  the  scenes  of  his  most  prolonged 
labors  elsewhere  were  Philippi,  Ephesus,  Corinth,  and  Rome. 

The  companions  of  Paul  in  his  missionary  labor  were 
in  his  first  journey,  Barnabas  all  the  way,  and  Mark  as  far 
as  Perga  ;  on  his  second,  Silas,  and  from  Lystra,  Timothy 


(  ( 

V 


jllje-^jl.:^    ^^_-^^^^     c^  jfclii.     V^J^^iX    (K 


13 

and  at  least  part  of  the  way,  Luke  ;  on  his  third,  Luke, 
Titus  and  Timothy.  Aquila  and  Priscilla,  Apollos  and 
others  were  also  associated  with  him  briefly  at  different 
times  and  places. 

His  epistles  were  written  chiefly  between  A.  D.,  52 
and  63,  at  Corinth,  at  Ephesus,  in  Macedonia  and  at  Rome. 

A  tradition  represents  the  7\postle  to  the  Gentiles  as 
liberated  on  his  first  trial,  as  making  extensive  >  missionary 
tours,  revisiting  Ephesus,  Macedonia  and  Miletus,  and  ex- 
tending his  labors  to  Nicopolis,  to  Crete  and  to  Spain,  In 
the  year»preceding  the  death  of  Nero,  it  is  said  he  was 
again  in  Rome,  having  been  arrested  a  second  time,  and 
suffered  death  by  beheading  in  that  year.  Those  who 
believe  in  a  second  imprisonment  of  Paul  refer  to  it  and  to 
the  preceding  interval  of  freedom,  the  pastoral  epistles. 


The  next  section  of  Apostolic  history  extends  from 
the  beginning  of  Paul's  imprisonment  in  Rome  to  the 
destruction  of  Jerusalem  : — from  A.  D.  61  to  70. 

After  the  meeting  at  Jerusalem,  the  history  of  the 
other  apostles  is  involved  in  obscurity.  We  subsequently 
read  of  Peter  ct  Antioch,  and  in  his  own  epistle,  at  Babylon, 
where  his  countrymen  were  very  numerous.  Although 
the  door  was  opened  to  the  gentiles  through  the  agency  of 
Peter,  his  special  vocation  was  not  to  them.  As  Paul  was 
the  chief  apostle  to  the  uncircumcision,  so  was  Peter  to  the 
circumcision  (Gal.  2  :  7,  8,  9.)  In  that  capacity  he  probably 
visited  the  Jews  at  Rome,  and  suffered  martyrdom  the  same 
year.  The  testimonies  adduced  to  sustain  the  assertion 
that  he  was  Bishop  of  Rome,  are  feeble  and  contradictory 
in  themselves,  and  utterly  inconsistent  with  all  the  scripture 
that  touches  the  subject. 

•  Of  the  other  apostles  our  knowledge  is  still  more 
scanty,  and  chiefly  apocryphal.  They  are  said  to  have 
preached  the  gospel  in  Arabia,  in  Ethiopia,  in  Egypt,  in 
Parthia,  in  Persia,  in  India  and  in  Scythia.  The  great  fact, 
which  there  is  no  reason  to  question,  is  that  churches  were 
planted  in  all  the  leading  countries  adjoining  on  the  Medi- 
terranean sea,  and  in  the  direction  in  which  their  civiliza- 
tion was  advancing. 


14 

The  church  accepted  its  generic  form  within  the  time 
of  Paul.  To  that  end  the  chief  actors  were  Peter,  Paul 
and  John.  The  apostles  had  their  place  exterior  to  the 
working  system  of  the  church,  and  were  not  included  un- 
der it.  They  were  appointed  by  Christ  and  miraculously 
qualified  for  the  special  and  temporary  service  which  they 
performed. 

The  form  of  the  christian  church  partook  of  elements 
contained  in  the  Jewish  synagogue,  both  as  respects  govern- 
ment and  worship.  The  presbyters,  who  were  the  rulers,  the 
reader  and  speaker  and  minister  or  attendant  were  the 
office  bearers  of  the  synagogue.  And  the  exercises  con- 
sisted of  prayer,  reading  of  the  Word,  exposition  and  ex- 
hortation, with  chanting  of  Psalms,  and  concluded  with 
the  pronunciation  of  a  blessing.  All  the  churches  were 
constituted  on  the  same  model  and  were  of  co-ordinate 
authority.  None  assumed  supremacy  over  the  rest,  though 
Jerusalem  first,  and  then  Antioch,  was  the  most  influential. 
Before  the  death  of  Paul,  the  Christian  Church  consisted 
of  a  great  number  of  such  communities  all  professing  the 
same  taith  and  loving  the  same  Redeemer  and  one  another. 

The  publication  of  the  gospel  was  first  made  b)'-  oral 
address.  But  a  literature  was  ordained  also  and  grew  up 
by  degrees.  The  canonical  books  except  those  of  John, 
were  probably  all  written  before  the  close  of  this  section 
of  time. 

When  Paul  finished  his  labors,  the  freedom  of  the 
gospel  had  been  fully  vindicated  ;  but  there  was  a  party  in 
the  church  which  still  advocated  compliance  with  some 
parts  of  the  ceremonial  law.  The  great  controversy  of  the 
apostolic  period  was  over  this  question.  Paul  was  on  one 
side,  and  Peter  was  claimed  by  the  moderate  advocates  of 
the  other.  On  either  side  the  extremes  ran  out  into 
heresy. 

The  animosity  of  unconverted  Jews  and  of  the  Jewish 
authorities  towards  christians  of  all  parties  was  unrelent- 
ing. But  their  power  was  drawing  near  its  end.  A  heath- 
en enemy  had  already  begun  his  career. 

The  events  now  mentioned  took  place  under  the  em- 
perors Claudius,  and  Nero.  The  last  came  to  the  throne 
in  A.  D.  54.     In  the  tenth  year  of  his  reign,  a  large  part 


o 

y^^f^   '        /he^  a-^JL.  i-o    1^.^-o-^A^  o£e^-^   yOLe^.^    crt>^x^ 


t::^  .'d>7fe-Sx/^ 


(Aa_^!>--C<3V>-«. 


F^j-^>U^   y.<fw    ^^^^^-^      o-Mr^ 

S^^wvX^   ^i^^^^I^^    ..cZte^.      w.X:C<r.^      ^'''^"'^'T^ 

.sijz-.a:c5j,  cjLc.^cX  ^^yoJ-e^  ^i^  ^    (L^^?^  ^  ^::Xi! -drui94<^ 

^'j^  — 


15 

of  Rome  was  burned,  by  design  or  accident  is  not  known. 
But  the  blame  was  laid  on  the  emperor ;  and  he  to  avert 
the  obloquy  from  himself,  charged  it  on  the  christians. 
We  have  no  reason  to  believe  that  he  concerned  himself 
about  their  faith  ;  but  they  were  a  class  of  people  against 
whom  he  could  direct  popular  rage  with  impunity. 

Two  years  later  an  insurrection  in  Judea  led  to  the 
removal  thither  of  a  large  body  of  Roman  troops.  An 
obstinate  resistance  changed  the  movement  into  a  war.  On 
the  part  of  the  Romans  it  was  conducted  by  VeSpasian  and 
his  son  Titus.  Meanwhile  Nero,  last  of  the  Caesars,  came 
to  his  miserable  and  merited  end,  (June  1 1,  A.  D.  68.) 

The  imperial  throne  was  now  an  object  of  ambition 
open  to  all  the  heads  of  the  military  force.  The  Pretorian 
Guards  at  Eome,  the  army  of  the  west  in  Spain,  that  of  the 
northwest,  in  Gaul  and  on  the  Rhine,  claimed,  each  for 
theaiselves,  the  right  of  putting  their  respective  generals 
into  the  place  of  honor.  And  Galba,  Otho  and  Vitellius 
were  successively  elevated  to  the  throne  and  dragged  from 
it,  in  the  space  of  a  year  and  a  half  Soon  after  the  last  of 
the  three  was  elevated  to  the  now  dangerous  office,  Ves- 
pasian also  put  in  his  claim.  The  army  in  Judea  he  left 
under  command  of  Titus;  that  of  Iliyricum  was  sufficient 
for  his  own  purpose.  It  was  already  near  the  scene  of 
strife,  took  up  his  cause,  and  won  his  victories  before  his 
arrival.  The  empire  was  waiting  his  acceptance.  And 
thus  the  Flavian  family  (Dec.  20th,  69,)  became  the  suc- 
cessor of  the  Julian. 

With  Vespasian  a  new  style  of  government  opened. 
For  the  good  of  the  state  his  days  were  filled  with  business. 
His  industry  and  economy  were  even  more  than  the  Ro- 
mans of  that  age  could  rightly  estimate.  During  that  reign 
from  70  to  79  A.  D.,  Christians,  like  all  other  orderly  sub- 
jects, enjoyed  the  protection  of  a  government  which  inter- 
fered not  with  their  religious  opinions. 

Titus,  in  command  of  the  army  in  Judea,  after  over- 
coming a  resistance  of  unsurpassed  obstinacy,  took  Jeru- 
salem by  storm  (Sept.  2,  70  A.  D.)  Its  walls  and  houses, 
and,  much  to  the  regret  of  Titus,  its  beautiful  temple,  were 
levelled  with  the  ground.  The  Jews  as  a  nation  were  com- 
pletely reduced.     A  portion  of  them   remained  in  the  land 


16 


between  sixty  and  seventy  years  longer,  after  which  in  an- 
other rebellion,  they  were  finally  broken  and  their  frag- 
ments scattered  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 

Their  national  centre  was  now  lost,  and  their  power  to 
injure  the  christians  greatly  reduced,  but  dispersed  as  they 
were  in  far  separate  societies  their  hostility  never  abated 
until  it  became  dangerous  to  themselves  to  indulge  it.  And 
ere  that  time  the}-  had  accumulated  for  their  posterity  an 
inheritance  of  vengeance,  which  is  not  all  exhausted  to  the 
present  day. 

The  Mosaic  economy,  virtually  abolished  by  its  fulfil- 
ment in  Christ,  was  now  practically  terminated,  and  the 
sacrifice  and  oblation  ceased. 

5- 

From  the  destruction  of  Jerusalem  in  A.  D.  70,  to  the 
death  of  the  apostle  John,  the  church  passed  through  an- 
other stage  of  progress,  apostolic  chiefly,  and  towards  the 
last,  solely  by  the  presence  of  the  beloved  disciple. 

A  new  generation  was  growing  up  in  the  church,  and 
ere  the  end  of  this  period  the  mass  of  believers  consisted  of 
those  who  had  been  born  within  christian  families.  But  the 
history  of  the  church  is  very  scanty,  almost  a  blank  through 
more  than  thirty  years. 

The  clemency  of  Vespasian's  reign  was  continued  in 
that  of  Titus,  and  the  churches  enjoyed  freedom,  in  as  far 
as  the  government  was  concerned.  But  when  in  A.  D.  81, 
Domitian,  a  younge'r  son  of  Vespasian  came  to  the  throne, 
the  work  of  persecution  received  imperial  sanction.  Among 
others  Flavius  Clemens  and  his  wife  Domitilla,  kindred  of 
the  emperor,  suffered.  Through  Jewish  misrepresentation 
Domitian  was  made  to  believe  that  the  aim  of  the  christians 
was  to  put  the  successors  of  Jesus  on  the  throne.  He  re- 
laxed his  severity  upon  discovering  that  the  surviving 
kinsmen  of  Jesus  were  poor  peasants  without  political  ambi- 
tion or  desires.  Persecution  of  christians  however  con- 
tinued on  the  ground  of  Atheism,  that  is  rejection  of  all  the 
gods  of  heathen  worship.  Nerva,  ascending  the  throne  in 
A.  D.  96,  repealed  the  persecuting  edicts  of  Domitian  ;  but 
took  no  steps  to  legalize  Christianity,  and  give  it  a  right  to 


—-^ 


--^  "  .il 


17 

government  protection.  At  the  end  of  two  years  he  was 
succeeded  by  Trajan,  a  wise  ruler,  but  severe,  by  whom  al- 
though persecution  was  limited,  it  was  within  those  limits 
sanctioned. 

After  the  Jewish  wars  began,  the  apostle  John  removed 
to  Proconsular  Asia,  took  up  his  residence  at  Ephesus, 
and  preached  in  several  cities  in  that  province.  He 
addresses  its  seven  churches  with  the  authority  of  a  special 
commission.  Under  Domitian,  he  was  banished  for  a  time 
to  the  isle  of  Patmos,  where  he  wrote  the  book  of  Revela- 
tion. His  gospel  was  written  after  the  other  three,  and 
while  he  resided  at  Ephesus.  His  epistles  have  the  color 
of  the  same  period,  adapted  rather  to  fan  the  love  of  those 
brought  up  as  christians  than  to  instruct  concerts  from 
heathenism  or  Judaism  ;  and  the  faults  he  reproves  are  not 
of  a  nature  incident  to  new  churches. 

Disturbers  of  the  peace  of  the  church,  and  of  the  faith 
of  believers  had  already  formed  themselves  into  sects  of 
greater  or  smaller  numbers.  Some  taught  that  the  end  of 
the  world  was  near,  and  looked  for  an  early  appearance  of 
the  Lord.  The  Docetae  held  that  Christ  had  no  real  body, 
others  that  he  was  only  a  man  ;  at  Ephesus  under  the  very 
presence  of  the  apostle,  Cerinthus  the  Gnostic  taught  his 
wild  opinions  ;  and  the  Nicolaitans  had  such  footing  at 
Pergamus  that  the  Holy  Spirit,  through  John,  administered 
a  reproof  for  that  cause. 

John  lived  to  an  advanced  age,  and  died  in  the  reign 
of  Trajan,  about  the  close  of  the  first  century,  and  at 
Ephesus,  to  which  he  had  returned  after  the  death  of 
Domitian.  His  teaching  did  notturn  upon  legal  conformity 
or  the  doctrine  of  faith,  but  upon  christian  love,  and  spiritual 
union  with  Christ.  It  was  needful  that  the  gospel  should 
be  presented  in  all  three  views,  as  obedience,  faith  and  love. 
Balanced,  as  they  are  in  Scripture,  they  properly  sustain 
one  another.  But  the  last  comprehends  the  other  two. 
Exposition  of  the  more  comprehensive  principle  was  the 
final  work  of  revelation. 

Christianity  was  first  planted  in  cities.  And  as  all  the 
converts  of  one  city  made  only  one  church,  the  largest 
churches  were  those  of  the  large  cities.  Most  eminent  at 
the  end  of  the  first  century  were  those  assembled  in  An- 


18 

tioch,  Ephesus,  Corinth  and  Rome.  That  eminence  was 
greatly  due  to  the  importance  of  the  cities.  But  in  no  case 
was  authority  over  the  other  churches  recognized  as  resid- 
ing in  them,  or  in  any  one  of  them. 

The  episcopal  succession  in  Antioch  begins  with 
Evodius,  and  the  second  bishop  was  Ignatius  ;  in  Rome,  it 
is  uncertain,  but  the  common  list  begins  with  Linus,  fol- 
lowed successively  by  Anacletus,  and  Clement.  Most  of 
the  churches  in  those  days  claimed  to  have  been  planted  by 
an  apostle,  but  for  none  of  them  do  we  find  it  said  in  earliest 
tradition  that  an  apostle  was  the  bishop. 

Notwithstanding  the  rise  of  heresies,  the  faith  of  the 
Church  in  general  was  still  of  a  uniform  standard,  and 
means  were  in  use  for  the  propagation  and  maintenance  of 
christian  knowledge.  The  canonical  books  of  the  New 
Testament  leceived  by  the  Church  without  question  were 
the  four  gospels,  the  acts  of  the  apostles  by  Luke,  the 
epistles  bearing  the  name  of  Paul,  to  the  number  of  thir- 
teen, with  the  first  epistle  of  Peter  and  first  of  John.  But, 
for  a  time,  there  were  some  churches  which  doubted  con- 
cerning the  epistle  of  James,  the  second  of  Peter,  the  second 
and  third  of  John  and  that  of  Jude.  The  Apocalypse  was 
accepted  from  its  first  appearance.  Subsequently  its  authen- 
ticity was  questioned  by  some  parties  in  the  chiliast  con- 
troversy. Respecting  the  epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  there 
was  question  only  of  its  authorship.  These  apostolic  writ- 
ings were  publicly  read  in  the  meetings  of  Christians,  and 
placed  together  with  Old  Testament  Scripture. 

The  scrupulousness  of  the  early  christians  which  gave 
rise  to  those  doubts,  was  due  to  the  existence  of  certain 
other  books,  in  some  respects  good  and  well  meaning,  but 
of  no  apostolic  authority. 

The  day  on  which  the  Lord  arose  was  a  solemn  and 
memorable  day  to  the  disciples.  On  that  day  week  they 
were  again  assembled,  when  the  Lord  appeared  among 
them.  Subsequently  mention  is  made  of  the  first  day  of 
the  week,  as  that  on  which  the  disciples  "  met  together  to 
break  bread,"  (Act  xx.  7,)  and  by  the  Apostle  John  men- 
tion is  made  of  the  Lord's  day.  Rev.  i.  10.  Jewish  Chris- 
tians observed  also  the  annual  festival  of  Pentecost.  And 
in  some  places  exercises  of  public  as  well  as  private  worship 
were  observed  daily. 


^    5 


^     '^    JXL^     -^-ffi.     c..-«L..oi^      (f  /  'n^-^^>v<x<  CLXL^WI^      tf-^ 


-     (f—       ^Z^       <LJiJ^>^  &^Ar\s^ 


^^x^cXs:^.    oJZXtLgtTt^^^x^  A.-.U£...5Mt^:fe?v^ , 


19 

Worship  consisted  of  prayer,  reading  of  Scripture, 
preaching,  and  singing  of  Psalms  and  Hymns  and  spiritual 
songs.     The  music  was  entirely  vocal. 

It  does  not  appear  that  the  apostles  and  presbyters  wore 
any  peculiar  vestments  when  conducting  divine  service. 

The  places  used  for  social  worship  were,  in  the  first 
instance,  synagogues,  but  also,  and  perhaps  most  com- 
monly, private  houses. 

Of  Sacraments  the  early  christians  had  only  two, 
Baptism  and  the  Lord's  Supper. 

The  ordinary  ministers  in  sacred  office  were  Presbyters, 
also  called  bishops,  in  the  first  instance  ordained  by  the 
apostles,  or  evangelists,  (Acts  xiv.  23.  Titus  i.  5,)  with 
the  concurrence  of  the  church  over  which  they  were  set 
(Clement,  i  Epistle  to  Cor.  44),  and  evidence  that  they 
were  called  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  (Acts  20 :  28.)  The  form 
of  ordination  was  laying  on  of  hands  with  prayer  by  the 
Apostle  (2  Tim.  i  :  6.)  or  by  the  Presbytery,  (i  Tim.  4:  14.) 
or  both.  And  the  Presbytery  was  the  company  of  Pres- 
byters ministering  in  any  one  church. 

From  the  corrupt  morals  of  the  age,  to  which  the  first 
christian  converts  had  been  more  or  less  accustomed,  the 
exercise  of  church  discipline  was  necessarily  strict,  yet  it 
was  ordered  by  the  apostles  to  be  laid  on  with  the  tender- 
ness of  brethren,  (2  Thes.  3  :  14,  15.  Titus  3  :  10.  2  Cor. 
2  :  7.)  The  christian  was  to  be  holy,  as  becoming  him  in 
whom  dwells  the  Spirit  of  God.     i  Cor.  3  :  16,  17. 

SECOND  PERIOD. 

From  100  to  325. 

I. — Apostolic  Fathers. 

At  the  death  of  the  Apostle  John,  about  the  year  100, 
we  come  to  the  dividing  line  between  revelation  and  the 
work  of  preserving  what  has  been  revealed.  So  far  the 
church  has  been  instructed  by  inspired  teachers,  now  she 
is  to  rely  upon  ordinary  means.  Still,  for  a  few  years,  the 
personal  influence  of  the  apostles  lingered  in  the  lives  of 
persons  who  had  enjoyed  their  society.  The  next  most  in- 
teresting group  in  the  history  of  the  church  is  that  of  the 
Apostolic  Fathers,  gifted  men  who  had  been  disciples  of 


20 

some  of  the  apostles,  among  whom  were  Clement  of  Rome, 
Barnabas,  Hermas,  Ignatius,  Papias  and  Polycarp.  Of  their 
writings  we  have  a  general  epistle  by  Barnabas,  an  epistle 
to  the  Corinthians  by  Clement,  a  book  by  Hermas  called 
the  Shepherd,  several  epistles  ascribed  to  Ignatius,  an 
epistle  of  Polycarp  to  the  church  at  Philippi,  and  the  re- 
cently recovered  anonymous  work  called  the  Teaching  of 
the  Apostles.  Other  writings  are  ascribed  to  some  of  them, 
but  deemed  spurious.  The  epistle  of  Barnabas  may  have 
been  written  within  the  last  years  of  the  first  century  or 
the  first  quarter  of  the  second.  The  author  is  unknown. 
Neither  is  anything  certainly  known  about  Hermas,  except 
that  he  was  a  contemporary  of  Clement. 

According  to  tradition,  Clement  died  in  A.  D.  102, 
Ignatius  suffered  martyrdom  in  the  amphitheatre  at  Rome 
sometime  between  107  and  115,  Papias  suffered  at  Pergamus, 
and  Polycarp  at  Smyrna  the  death  of  martyrs  in  155. 

The  doctrines  upon  which  those  teachers  insisted 
most,  were  the  deity  of  Jesus,  his  equality  with  the  Father, 
his  vicarious  suffering,  the  remission  of  sins  through  his 
blood,  the  depravity  of  man,  justification  by  faith  in  Christ 
and  obedience  to  his  instructions.  Some  in  their  doctrine, 
as  Clement,  Hermas  and  Barnabas  follow  the  example  of 
Paul,  and  others,  as  Ignatius  and  Polycarp  that  of  John. 
Quite  a  number  of  books  also  are  extant,  as  if  from  the 
first  and  second  centuries,  which  are  grouped  under  the 
general  name  Apocryphal.  To  none  of  these,  the  genuine 
works  of  the  Apostolic  Fathers,  any  more  than  the  apocry- 
phal, did  the  early  church  attach  a  value  equal  to  the  writ- 
ings of  the  apostles. 

Among  the  sources  of  christian  history  for  the  second 
century,  there  are  fifteen  epistles  under  the  name  of  Ignatius. 
They  were  all  published  for  genuine  until  the  middle  of  the 
i6th  century.  But  three  of  them,  written  in  Latin,  were 
soon  discovered  to  be  spurious;  subsequent  criticism,  in  a 
few  years  clearly  exposed  the  false  pretensions  of  five  more. 
Bishop  Pearson,  an  English  divine  of  the  17th  century,  in 
a  learned  treatise,  defended  the  genuineness  of  the  remaining 
seven.  These  exist  in  two  forms,  a  longer  and  a  shorter. 
It  was  the  shorter  which  from  about  the  beginning  of  the 
1 8th  century  came  to  be  generally  accepted  as  genuine. 


-^^     ''-^^^Jij^    v^.^^x.^     C^^<<<i_     Jr^-^^-^-^^oJ^  , 


21 

But  in  1843  certain  ancient  manuscripts  of  three  Igna- 
tian  epistles  in  the  Syriac  language  were  brought  from  a 
monastery  in  Egypt,  and  deposited  in  the  British  Museum, 
which  re-opened  the  controversy.  So  far  as  a  conclusion 
was  reached,  it  was  to  throw  doubt  on  the  whole  seven. 
Some  critics  considered  the  three  in  Syriac  as  the  only 
genuine  epistles  of  Ignatius;  others  could  see  no  sufficient 
reason  for  excepting  the  three  from  the  sweeping  condemna- 
tion of  forgery  passed  upon  the  rest.  Further  criticism  has 
moderated  those  opinions,  and  brought  controversy  back 
to  the  question  of  the  genuine  or  interpolated  condition  of 
the  short  seven. 

Although  beyond  doubt  some  genuine  letters  of  Igna- 
tius constituted  the  foundation  of  the  structure,  it  has  been 
utterly  ruined  for  direct  use  in  history.  Only  indirectly 
can  its  evidence  be  of  any  value. 

The  spirit  of  the  seven  epistles  is  that  of  inordinate 
hierarchical  pretension,  within  a  congregational  episcopacy, 
such  as  that  the  "  Deacons  are  to  be  reverenced  as  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Bishop,  as  God  the  Father,  and  the  Presbyters 
as  the  Sanhedrim  of  God,  and  college  of  the  apostles." 
The  language  argues  the  existence  of  a  controversy  for 
and  against  the  exaltation  of  the  clergy. 

The  great  theological  question  was  the  person  of 
Christ.  On  that,  the  extreme  doctrines  were  those  of  the 
Docetae,  who  denied  the  reality  of  his  manhood,  and  of  the 
Ebionites,  who  argued  that  he  was  only  a  holy  man,  while 
Gnostics  wove  it  according  to  their  fancies,  into  the  specu- 
lations of  their  philosophy. 

The  recognized  ministry  consisted  of  Presbyter- 
Bishops  and  deacons,  whose  offices  already  began  to  be 
subdivided  in  the  larger  churches. 

Extraordinary  offices  in  the  church  had  now  ceased. 
Each  church,  with  its  session  of  Presbyter-Bishops,  admin- 
istered its  own  government  without  subordination  to  any 
ecclesiastical  superior.  A  Presbyter  was  so  called  from  the 
custom  of  the  synagogue,  the  name  being  only  the  Greek 
word  for  Ij?! ;  but  by  the  Greeks  he  was  also  called  an 
overseer,  izcaxo-o^,  from  which  Bishop  is  an  English  deriv- 
ative, the  former  being  a  title  of  rank,  and  the  latter  a 
designation  of  office. 


22 

Deacons,  originally  appointed  to  distribute  alms  and 
relieve  the  apostles  of  secular  duties,  took  care  of  the  poor 
and  sick,  and  discharged  other  duties  standing  between  the 
church  and  the  world. 

These  were  the  only  ordinary  officers  of  the  primitive 
church.  Knowledge  of  this  fact  was  retained  among 
christians  long  after  its  simplicity  had  been  practically 
abandoned.  It  was  defended  as  historical  by  Hilary  of 
Rome  in  the  4th  century,  by  Jerome  in  the  5th,  by  Isi- 
dore of  Seville,  in  the  7th,  by  Anselm  in  the  nth,  and 
by  Pope  Urban  II.,  and  the  council  of  Beneventum  in 
109 1,  in  the  following  words  :  "  We  hold  the  Deaconate 
and  Presbyterate  to  be  holy  orders.  Because  the  primitive 
church  is  said  to  have  had  these  alone,  and  concerning 
these  alone  have  we  the  precept  of  an  apostle."  The  same 
statement  was  repeated  by  Peter  Lombard  in  his  celebrated 
theological  text  book,  published  in  the  middle  of  the  12th 
century,  and  by  Gratianus  in  his  book,  the  Decretum,  which 
constitutes  an  essential  part  of  the  Canon  Law.  In  the 
14th  century  the  same  fact  was  recognized  by  the  author  of 
the  book  "  Defensor  Pacis,"  also  by  Nicholas  Tudeschus, 
bishop  of  Palermo,  a  member  of  the  council  of  Basil,  and 
by  the  Papal  canonist  Paul  Launcelot,  whose  treatise  on 
canon  law  was  published  in  1563.  It  was  accepted  by 
the  Reformers,  who  were  most  of  them  ordained  presbyters 
of  the  Catholic  church,  and,  with  exception  of  the  Anglican, 
retained  no  higher  rank. 

At  first  all  the   presbyters  of  a  church  were  bishops; 
but  on  any  occasion  of  business  or  of  public  worship,  one 
of  them  necessarily  presided.     For  each  to  have  taken  his 
turn  would  have  best  preserved  their  equality.     But  from 
that  method  they  early  departed,  yielding  the  duty  of  pre- 
siding to  one  of  their  number,  who  thereby  became  their 
permanent  president  and  chief  overseer,  or  bishop  of  the  con- 
gregation.    In  course  of  time  it  was  thought  expedient  to 
determine  the  rule  that  there  should  be  only  one  bishop  in  one 
church.     This  change  took  place,  of  course,  gradually,  and 
in  some  churches  sooner  than  in  others.     It  manifests  itself 
in  the  course  of  the  second  century,  beginning  not  improba- 
bly in  Antioch.     A  controversy  on  the  distinction  between 
Presbyter  and  Bishop  is  indicated  in  the  Ignatian  Epistles. 


23 

Church  extension  proceeded  in  apostolic  times  by  the 
method  of  planting  each  new  congregation  as  a  separate 
church,  competent  to  its  own  government,  after  the  model 
constituted  everywhere  by  the  apostles.  But  when  the 
churches  of  the  great  cities  began  to  expand,  and  new  con- 
gregations to  proceed  from  them,  another  method,  that  of 
branch  churches,  was  gradually  generated. 

In  the  beginning  of  this  period  the  emperor  Trajan 
was  on  the  throne,  and  reigned  until  117.  He  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Hadrian,  from  1 17-138.  Neither  of  those  em- 
perors exhibited  any  animosity  against  christians,  and  yet 
within  their  time  christians  suffered  much  at  the  hands  of 
local  rulers  and  the  people  of  certain  provinces.  Priests 
and  other  ministers  of  heathenism  were  exceedingly  bitter 
against  them,  and  stirred  up  the  people  to  maltreat  them, 
or  prosecuted  them  before  the  magistrates,  on  various  false 
charges.  Information  touching  these  matters  did  not  al- 
ways reach  the  Emperor. 

An  important  contemporaneous  testimony  from  the 
heathen  side  is  the  letter  of  the  younger  Pliny  from  Bithynia 
to  Trajan.  Pliny  was  governor  of  Bithynia,  where  Chris- 
tianity had  made  great  progress,  while  neither  legally  al- 
lowed nor  forbidden,  and  found  himself  called  upon,  in  re- 
gard to  those  charged  with  professing  its  faith,  to  act  where 
he  had  no  law.  He  had  recourse  to  the  Emperor,  stating 
distinctly  the  case  and  what  he  had  been  able  to  learn 
about  the  christians.  In  the  rescript  of  Trajan,  written  ' 
probably  in  104,  we  have  the  first  Roman  law  intelligently 
addressed  to  the  subject.  It  instructed  Pliny  not  to  disturb 
the  christians,  not  to  take  action  in  regard  to  them,  unless 
brought  before  him  on  a  definite  charge;  but  if  so  accused 
and  convicted  they  were  to  be  punished  unless  they  denied 
Christ,  and  were  willing  to  adore  the  Roman  gods.  (Pliny's 
Letters,  Book  X.  letters  97,  98.)  Designed,  as  that  rescript 
was,  to  put  a  check  upon  unjust  prosecutions,  there  is  no 
doubt  that  in  the  provinces  many  christians  suffered  under 
its  sanction. 

From  the  letter  of  Pliny  it  apf)ears  that  christian  worship, 
at  the  beginning  of  the  second  century  was  still  extremely 
simple,  conducted  in  Bithynia  with  a  degree  of  secrecy. 
Their  meetings  were  held  very  early  in  the  morning. 
Christ  was  the  object  of  their  adoration.     They  observed 


24 

the  Lord's  Supper,  or  the  Love  Feasts  frequently :  and  held 
themselves  under  oath  to  do  no  wrong.  They  were  dis- 
posed to  submit  to  the  government  in  all  things,  not  incon- 
sistent with  their  duty  to  God.  But  could  not  be  induced 
by  even  torture  and  the  terrors  of  death  to  deny  Christ, 
And  their  influence  was  vastly  greater  than  their  numbers. 
Throughout  Bithynia  the  observances  of  heathen  worship 
had  almost  ceased;  the  temples  were  nearly  deserted,  and 
victims  for  sacrifice  could  scarcely  find  a  purchaser. 

In  the  reign  of  Hadrian  the  heathen  populace  pro- 
ceeded to  such  a  degree  of  animosity  as  to  clamor  for  the 
execution  of  christians  in  the  arena,  as  part  of  the  enter- 
tainment at  the  public  festivals.  Hadrian  issued  a  rescript 
interdicting  such  inhuman  proceedings. 

Within  this  period  the  Jews  provoked  their  final 
reduction.  In  Cyrene,  (A.  D.  115)  they  excited  an  insur- 
rection, which  extended  to  Egypt  and  Cyprus.  Another 
was  raised  by  them  in  Mesopotamia.  Another  in  132,  un- 
der their  leader  Bar  Cochab,  attempted  to  expel  the  Romans 
from  Palestine.  In  the  war  whereby  that  insurrection  was 
put  down,  Palestine  was,  in  135,  reduced  almost  to  a  des- 
ert. Jews  were  forbidden  to  visit  the  ruins  of  Jerusalem 
on  pain  of  death.  Only  once  a  year,  on  the  anniversary 
of  its  destruction,  were  they  permitted  to  view  the  place 
from  a  distance.  A  new  town  subsequently  arose  there, 
and  in  it  a  church  of  gentiles,  or  Jews,  accepting  a  gentile 
bishop  and  recognition. 

2. — Primitive  Apologists. 

The  next  division  of  this  period  may  be  most  charac- 
teristically designated  as  that  of  the  Primitive  Apologists, 
in  whom,  during  the  middle  and  latter  part  of  the  second 
century,  the  church  had  her  ablest  defenders.  The  pro- 
ductions called  apologies  were  defences  of  christians, 
written  for  the  purpose  of  being  presented  to  the  Emperor, 
or  the  Roman  Senate.  When  Hadrian  upon  his  imperial 
tour  visited  Athens  in  126,  the  learned  christian  Quadratus 
took  occasion  to  present  to  him  a  defence  of  his  fellow 
christians.  Another  was  presented  about  the  same  time 
by  Aristides.  A  third  was  written  by  Agrippa  Castor, 
about  135, against  the  heresies  of  Basilides. '  All  three  are 


L  i^<2'.'d>^v<U' 


25 

lost.  The  earliest  extant  work  of  the  kind  is  that  of  Jus- 
tin Martyr,  addressed  to  the  Emperor  Antoninus  Pius,  about 
139.  Another  was  prepared  by  the  same  author  between 
161  and  166,  to  be  presented  to  Marcus  Aurelius  and  Lucius 
Verus,  colleagues  on  the  throne.  He  also  wrote  a  work 
called  a  dialogue  with  Trypho  the  Jew,  in  which  he  en- 
counters the  objections  from  the  side  of  Judaism. 

Justin  was  a  native  of  Samaria,  born  of  Gentile  par- 
ents. He  suffered  martyrdom  at  Rome  in  or  about  the 
year  166. 

Tatian,  a  friend  and  disciple  of  Justin,  wrote  an  ad- 
dress to  the  heathen  among  the  Greeks,  urging  the  folly 
and  grossness  of  heathenism,  and  the  purity  and  wisdom  of 
Scripture. 

The  apology  of  Theophilus,  bishop  of  Antioch,  was 
inscribed  to  a  friend,  one  Autolycus,  who  was  a  heathen, 
but  a  lover  of  truth,  and  presents  evidences  for  christian 
truth,  drawn  from  both  Scripture  and  history. 

Athenagoras  of  Athens  also  prepared  for  the  emperor 
Marcus  Aurelius  an  argument  in  defence  of  the  christians. 

Irenaeus  about  170  wrote  his  treatise  against  heresies, 
chiefly  the  heresies  of  the  Gnostics.  Such  writings  in- 
creased in  number  towards  the  end  of  the  century,  but 
most  of  them  are  no  longer  extant.  Of  those  which  re- 
main the  most  valuable  is  the  longer  apology  of  Justin.  Its 
topics  may  be  classified  under  the  following  heads: 

1.  "  Appeals  to  the  justice  of  the  ruling  powers,  and 
expostulations  with  them  on  the  unfairness  of  the  proceed- 
ings against  the  christians." 

2.  "  Refutations  of  the  charges  of  Atheism,  immo- 
rality and  of  disaffection  towards  the  Emperor." 

3.  "  Direct  arguments  in  proof  of  the  truth  of  Christ- 
ianity drawn  from  miracles  and  prophecy." 

4.  Exposure  of  the  baseness  and  absurdity  of  poly- 
theism and  idolatry,  and  on  the  other  hand  the  beneficial 
effects  of  christian  doctrine  upon  the  life  of  men. 

5.  Descriptionof  the  christian  rites,  customs  and  man- 
ner of  life. 

Among  the  literary  opponents,  whom  the  apologists 
had  to  encounter,  were  Celsus  the  Epicurean,  Crescens  the 
Cynic,  and  the  rhetoriciair*M.  C.  Pronto,  who  all  flour- 
ished about  the  middle  of  the  century.     Bitterest  was  Cel- 


26 

sus.  In  a  work  called  the  True  Account  he  collected  all 
the  arguments  against  Christianity,  which  he  could  urge 
with  any  degree  of  probability.  It  is  now  known  only  in 
the  refutation  of  it  by  Origen. 

The  arguments  against  Christianity  were  chiefly, 

1.  That  Jesus  was  of  low  birth,  and  brought  up  among 
the  ignorant,  the  vulgar  and  vicious,  and  that  he  suffered 
an  ignominious  death. 

2.  That  Christianity  was  a  novelty  ;  that  it  had  not 
the  sanction  of  any  national  government;  that  it  had  com- 
menced among  barbarians,  that  its  facts  were  incredible, 
and  its  doctrines  absurd,  especially  those  of  regeneration 
and  the  resurrection ;  that  different  portions  of  Scripture 
contradicted  each  other,  and  that  it  demanded  a  blind  and 
unreasonable  faith. 

3.  Christians  were  charged  with  atheism,  with  the  wor- 
ship of  a  crucified  malefactor,  and  being  poor  and  unculti- 
vated, with  the  crime  of  creating  division  in  religion  and 
society,  and  of  being  disloyal  to  their  country  and  to  the 
emperor,  with  a  superstitious  spirit,  fanatical  and  dismal. 

4.  Sometimes  also  mysteriously  awful  crimes  were 
imputed  to  them,  as  that  of  indiscriminate  licentiousness, 
of  eating  human  flesh  and  blood,  of  devouring  children  in 
their  rePigious  feasts,  and  other  things  equally  wild,  the  fic- 
tions of  alarmed  ignorance  and  heated  imaginations. 

Holding  such  belief  the  heathen  populace  certainly 
thought  that  they  had  abundant  cause  for  their  deadly  hat- 
red to  the  followers  of  Christ. 

In  debate  with  Jews,  the  early  defenders  of  the  gos- 
pel found  common  ground  in  the  Old  Testament  Scrip- 
y^  tures  ;  and  their  aim  was  to  show  that  the  prophecies  and 
types  of  the  Messiah,  therein  contained,  were  all  fulfilled 
in  Jesus  of  Nazareth. 

With  heathen  the  controversy  was  partly  religious  and 
moral,  and  partly  political  and  social,  and  had  to  be  de- 
bated on  the  ground  of  admitted  moral  principle,  good 
sense,  demonstrable  truth  and  the  common  rights  of  Roman 
subjects.  It  was  the  external  morality  of  those  early  wit- 
nesses for  the  gospel  which  weighed  most  in  their  favor, 
and  the  change  which  passed  upon  wicked  men  when  they 
became  christian. 


27 

Imperial  persecution  was  fitful,  and  seldom  continued 
long  ;  local  persecution  by  the  heathen  and  Jewish  popu- 
lace was  persistent,  ignorant  and  malignant  in  every  way, 
from  petty  social  annoyances  to  demands  for  "  christians 
to  the  lions  "  in  the  arena. 

It  was  when  the  stoic  philosopher  Marcus  Aurelius 
came  to  the  throne,  in  i6i,  that  persecution  received  im- 
perial direction,  and  proceeded  upon  principle  and  by  law. 
The  profligate  Commodus  took  no  interest  in  either  philo- 
sophy or  religion,  and  proved  a  lenient  ruler  toward  the 
christians.  At  the  end  of  the  second  century  their  number 
had  vastly  increased  within  the  empire,  though  under  much 
oppression,  and  in  some  places  still  constrained  to  observe 
their  ordinances  in  concealment  from  the  multitude. 

Concerning  the  doctrine  and  worship  of  the  christians 
in  the  second  century  we  learn  most  from  the  apologists, 
chiefly  Justin  and  Irenaeus.  For  the  works  of  their  theo- 
logian Arabianus,  and  of  their  historian  Hegesippus,  have 
perished. 

1.  They  worshipped  Christ  as  God  proceeding  from 
the  Father,  not  as  a  holy  man,  but  as  the  Word  made  flesh, 
the  divine  nature  incarnate. 

2.  They  believed  that  the  Holy  Spirit  was  one  of  the    t^ 
persons  in   Godhead,  and  in  conjunction  with  the  Father 

and  Son  an  object  of  worship. 

3.  Of  man,  they  believed  that  he  was  created  capable 
of  choosing  right ;  but  capable  also  of  transgression,  and 
that  by  sinning  he  fell  in  Adam. 

4.  Justification  they  assigned  entirely  to  the  merits  of 
Christ  as  its  ground  or  cause,  and  faith  they  held  to  be  the 
means  of  acceptance. 

5.  They  believed  in  such  a  degree  of  human  freedom 
that  men  were  accountable  for  their  actions. 

6.  They  believed  in  the  resurrection  of  the  body,  in 
case  of  both  righteous  and  wicked,  the  eternal  blessedness 
of  the  former,  and  eternal  punishment  of  the  latter. 

But  the  principal  point,  discussed  with  all  the  philo- 
sophical acumen  of  the  time,  was  the  person  of  Christ,  and 
his  place  in  various  theories  of  good  and  evil. 

Of  the  forms  of  their  worship  and  sacraments  we 
learn  also  some  interesting  particulars  from  the  same 
sources,  especially  from  Justin. 


28 

1.  Of  Baptism  he  writes  that  it  had  taken  the  place  of- 
circumcision,  and  was  accordingly  granted  to  infants, 

2.  It  was  administered  by  affusion,  by  immersion,  or 
by  sprinkling,  in  the  name  of  God  the  Father,  the  Son,  and 
the  Holy  Spirit.  Only  water  was  used.  No  other  cere- 
mony is  mentioned  as  connected  with  it. 

3.  The  day  which  is  called  Sunday  Justin  says  was  kept 
sacred  by  them,  because  on  that  day  of  the  week  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ  rose  from  the  dead.  On  that  day  the  people  in 
town  and  country  met  in  their  respective  places  of  worship. 

(a.)  In  those  meetings  the  memoirs  of  the  apostles,  or 
writings  of  the  prophets  were  read  to  such  length  as  time 
permitted. 

(b.)  Then  he  who  presided  delivered  a  discourse,  in 
which  he  instructed  the  people,  and  exhorted  them  to  the 
imitation  of  those  excellent  examples. 

(c.)  After  that,  they  all  rose  together,  and  offered  up 
their  prayer. 

(d.)    After  prayer,  bread  was  brought,  and  .wine  and 
water.     And  again  the  brother  who  presided   offered  up 
prayer  and  thanksgiving  according  to  his  ability,  and  the 
I  .      people  expressed  their  assent  by  saying  "  Amen." 
y  y^  Justin  makes  no  mention  of  singing.     But  elsewhere 

that  element  of  worship  appears  with  sufficient  clearness. 
It  was  one  of  the  most  striking  features  of  christian  meet- 
ings as  they  were  described  to  Pliny.  Where  Justin 
worshipped,  it  seems  that  they  celebrated  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per every  Lord's  day\  He  describes  the  administration  of 
that  ordinance,  more  particularly. 

1.  After  the  prayer  which  closed  the  ordinary  services, 
the  people  saluted  one  another  with  a  kiss. 

2.  Then  to  him  who  presided  there  was  brought  bread, 
and  a  cup  of  wine  mixed  with  water. 

3.  And  he  taking  them  offered  up  thanks  and  praise  to 
the  Father  of  all,  through  the  name  of  the  Son  and  of  the 
Holy  Ghost. 

4.  When  he  had  finished  the  prayer,  and  offering  of 
thanks,  all  the  people  present  assented  by  saying  "  Amen." 

5.  Then  the  Deacons  gave  to  each  of  those  who  were 
present  to  partake  of  the  bread,  and  o(  the  wine  and  water, 
and  to  carry  away  some  for  those  who  were  absent. 


29 

6.  In  that  ordinance  only  those  were  allowed  to  par- 
take, who  professed  their  belief  in  those  things  which  were 
taught  in  the  church,  were  baptized,  and  endeavored  to  live 
as  Christ  commanded. 

7.  The  bread  Justin  speaks  of  as  what  Christ  had  com- 
manded to  be  offered  in  remembrance  of  his  being  made 
flesh,  and  the  cup  as  that  which  he  commanded  to  be 
offered  in  remembrance  of  his  blood. 

8.  He  does  not  mention  the  posture  of  the  communi- 
cants; but  from  that  fact  it  may  be  inferred,  as  well  as  from 
the  statement  that  the  Deacons  distributed  the  elements, 
that  it  was  the  same  which  they  occupied  when  listening  to 
the  preceding  sermon  and  reading.  For  their  change  of 
posture  in  prayer  he  does  mention. 

9.  After  the  service  a  collection  was  taken  up  for  the 
poor. 

Besides  the  Lord's  Day,  many  christians  still  kept  the 
Jewish  Sabbath,  and  the  Jewish  Christian  practice  of  ob- 
serving certain  annual  festivals  was  gradually  gaining 
ground  among  the  Gentile  churches.  It  was  also  com- 
mon to  fast  on  Wednesdays  and  Fridays.  The  annual 
commemoration  of  the  Lord's  suffering,  death,  and  resur- 
rection was  also  general  in  the  churches  both  east  and 
west.  But  they  differed  in  the  v/ay  of  observing  it.  By 
the  end  of  the  century  a  serious  controversy  arose  between 
them  on  that  subject. 

That  period  which  opened  with  the  accession  of  Nerva  \ 
A.  D.  96,  and  closed  in  the  death  of  Marcus  Aurelius  (180,) 
was  the  most  prosperous  and  tranquil  in  the  history  cf  im- 
perial Rome.  The  facilities  for  publication  of  the  gospel, 
notwithstanding  local  and  occasional  persecutions,  were 
unprecedented.  The  empire  had  reached  its  utmost  extent, 
was  most  of  the  time  in  peace,  the  fear  or  reverence  of  it 
was  upon  all  the  world,  delegates  from  Antoninus  went  even 
as  far  as  China,  and  the  wants,  natural  and  artificial,  of  so 
many  great  cities  made  demands,  which  the  most  distant 
barbarous  nations  found  their  profit  in  supplying 

When  from  relying  upon  the  counsel  of  an  inspired 
apostle  the  church  came  to  employ  the  judgment  of  unin- 
spired teachers,  many  difficulties  beset  her  way.  One  of 
these  was  philosophical  speculation  of  that  style  which 
bore  the  general  name  of  Gnosis.     It  was   not  new,  but 


30 

reached  its  maturity  in  the  second  century,  within  the  time 
of  the  Primitive  Apologists. 
lyC^  Christian   Gnosticism  was   a   theory  of  good  and  evil, 

^^  how  they  arose,  and  how  they  co-exist,  and  how  the  per- 
sons oi  Christ  and  of  the  Holy  Spirit  stand  in  relation  to 
them.     Its  fundamental  elements  were 

1.  A  great  and  holy  spirit,  eternal,  unchangeable  and 
infinite,  the  source  of  all  life  and  good  ;  but  inactive, — the 
tranquil  reservoir  of  holiness  and  power. 

2.  The  world  of  matter,  existing  also  from  all  eternity, 
but  inactive,  and  containing  in  itself  the  principles  of  evil. 

3.  The  union  of  spirit  and  matter,  which  was  tempo- 
rary, and  productive  of  the  natural  or  imperfect. 

4.  The  ruler  of  the  natural  world  was  the  Demiurgus, 
or  master  spirit,  who  created  it  by  combining  the  contra- 
dictory elements  of  spirit  and  matter. 

5.  Souls  of  men  were  rays  of  light  which  had  come 
from  the  eternal  spirit.  In  their  earthly  condition  they 
are  continually  striving  to  obtain  deliverance  from  fetters  of 
the  Demiurgus  and  of  matter,  and  thereby  to  return  into 
the  region  of  the  pure  and  spiritual. 

6.  Christ  was  one  of  the  highest  spirits  of  light,  who 
connected  himself  with  the  body  of  Jesus,  to  assist  men 
in  effecting  that  end. 

The  various  schools  of  Gnosticism  differed  from  each 
other  chiefly  in  their  way  of  representing  the  imperfect. 
That  of  Alexandria  effected  it  by  emanations.  But  theories 
of  emanations  differed  among  themselves. 
j^^  I.  Basilides  taught  that  seven  secondary  powers  ema- 
nated from  God.  From  these  emanated  other  seven,  and 
from  these  again  a  third  class,  and  so  on,  until  there  were 
three  hundred  and  sixty-five  kingdoms  of  spirits,  each  of 
which  possessed  a  feebler  degree  of  power  in  goodness 
than  the  preceding,  and  the  seven  angels  of  the  lowest 
heaven  came  into  contact  with  matter,  and  their  chief  be- 
came the  Creator  of  the  world,  the  Demiurgus. 

Men,  at  so  great  a  distance  as  they  were  from  God, 
bound  up  with  matter  in  creation,  were  inextricably  in- 
volved in  darkness  and  evil.  To  deliver  their  -souls  from 
that  bondage,  the  Nous,  the  first  spirit  of  the  highest  order, 
entered  the  man  Jesus,  at  his  baptism,  and  remained  con- 
nected with  him  until  just  before  his  death. 


31 

2.  Valentinus,  also  an  Egyptian,  removed  about  140  to 
Rome.  His  pleroma  was  simpler  than  that  of  Basilides. 
It  consisted  of  fifteen  male  and  as  many  female  aeons  who 
all  emanated  from  Bythos,  the  depths  of  Deity.  From  the 
last  of  these  proceeded  a  being  called  Achamoth,  which 
had  no  longer  power  enough  to  retain  its  place  within  the 
Pleroma,  and  so  came  into  contact  with  matter,  and  com- 
municating the  germ  of  life  thereto,  formed  the  Demiur- 
gus  or  creator  of  the  world. 

Christ  and  the  Holy  Spirit  were  two  new  aeons,  who 
came  to  restore  the  disturbed  harmony  of  the  Pleroma. 

3.  A  third  branch  of  Alexandrian  Gnosticism  was 
that  of  the  Ophites.  In  their  doctrine,  the  first  man,  the 
second  man,  i.  e.  the  son  of  man,  and  the  Holy  Spirit  ema- 
nate separately  from  Bythos.  From  the  last,  through 
means  of  the  former  two,  proceed  the  perfect  masculine 
light-nature,  the  Christ,  and  the  defective  female  nature, 
Sophia,  or  Wisdom.  Sophia  sought  to  defeat  the  oppres- 
sive designs  of  the  world  creator  through  the  serpent  of 
the  first  temptation.  The  office  assigned  to  Christ  was  the 
same  as  in  the  theory  of  Valentinus. 

n.  Among  the  Gnostics  of  Syria  a  simple  dualism 
prevailed.  Their  principal  representative,  Saturninus  of  Anti- 
och,  (between  125  and  150)  taught  that  there  was  an  origi- 
nal evil  Being,  the  everlasting  antagonist  of  God,  and  that 
in  accordance  with  these  two  powers,  both  active,  there  are 
two  classes  of  men,  one  instigated  by  the  evil  Being,  and 
the  other  by  the  good. 

III.  The  Gnosticism  of  Asia  Minor  is  represented 
chiefly  by  Marcion,  a  native  of  Sinope,  who  came  to  Rome, 
and  studied  with  the  Gnostic  Cerdo,  between  140  and  150. 
In  Marcion's  system  there  are  three  original  principles,  the 
holy,  the  righteous,  and  the  wicked,  embodied  in  God,  the 
Demiurgus,  and  the  Devil.  As  in  other  Gnostic  systems, 
matter  is  essentially  evil.  Men  were  under  the  merely 
righteous  Demiurgus  ;  and  from  him  could  expect  only 
justice.  To  free  them  from  his  severity,  Christ  took  the 
appearance  of  a  body  among  them,  and  revealed  to  them 
the  holy  God,  and  the  way  of  obtaining  his  favor. 

Such  fanciful  theories  admitted  of  endless  diversity  of 
treatment.  The  sect  called  Ophites  lasted  longest,  and 
were  still  in  existence  as  late  as  530.     Gnosticism  embraced 


ly 


32 

-elements  of  both  Ebionism  and  Docetism,  but  held  nearest 
to  the  latter. 

About  170,  a  sect  arose  in  Phrygia,  under  the  teach- 
ing of  Montanus  of  Ardaban,  afterwards  of  Pepuza,  pro- 
fessing to  have  a  special  inspiration  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and 
a  new  dispensation  to  reveal.  The  Scriptures  of  the  Saviour 
were  now  to  be  completed  by  the  Scriptures  of  the  Para- 
clete. Montanus  and  his  associates,  Maximilla  and  Pris- 
cilla,  were  divinely  inspired,  and  possessed  the  gift  of  pro- 
phesying. They  also  practised  numerous  austeritie.?,  at- 
tached great  value  to  celibacy  and  martyrdom  ;  and  pro- 
claimed the  end  of  the  world,  and  a  millenial  reign  of 
Christ  to  be  near  at  hand.  The  prophcies  of  Montanus 
and  his  female  associates  were  in  most  cases,  if  not  in  all, 
committed  to  writing,  and  esteemed  by  their  followers  as 
belonging  to  Holy  Scripture,  and  completing  the  Christian 
Revelation. 

Montanists,  driven  from  Asia  Minor  by  persecution, 
found  refuge  in  Northern  Africa,  where,  in  the  beginning 
of  the  third  century,  they  had  an  able  advocate  in  Tertul- 
lian. 

In  resisting  Montanism  another  party  rushed  to  an 
opposite  extreme,  and  not  only  denied  the  continuance  of 
the  miraculous  gifts  of  the  Spirit,  but  also  the  doctrine  of 
the  divine  Logos,  and  rejected  the  gospel  according  to 
John,  in  which  it  is  principally  taught,  and  the  book  of 
Revelation,  because  of  the  Chiliasm,  which  was  then  de- 
fended by  it.  The  Alogi,  as  that  party  was  sometimes 
called,  seem  to  have  accepted  Christ  as  a  mere  man  or  as 
deified   by  the  indwelling  of  God  the  Father. 

Among  heathen  philosophies  the  most  friendly  to 
Christianity  was  the  Platonic  ;  and  the  firmest  opposition 
was  exhibited  by  the  Stoics.  Some  doctrines  which  Pla- 
tonism  argued,  Christianity  revealed  ;  but  the  pretension  of 
the  Stoics  to  a  faultless  morality  it  rejected.  That,  how- 
ever, was  the  strong  point  of  Stoicism.  There  was  abun- 
dant reason  in  the  natural  heart  for  Stoic  hostility  to  Christ- 
ians. Accordingly,  when  Marcus  Aurelius,  an  illustrious 
member  of  that  sect,  came  to  the  throne,  persecution  was 
ordered  against  them  with  an  intelligent  animosity.  It  was 
then  that  Justin  suffered  death  at  Rome,  and  the  recently 
formed  churches  in  Lyons  and  Vienne  in   Gaul  had  their 


33 

faith  severely  tried.  Spies  and  informers  were  encouraged 
to  bring  christians  to  trial,  and  the  agencies  of  persecution 
in  the  local  tribunals  were  sustained  by  the  imperial  autho- 
rity. 

From  contemporaneous  statements  it  appears  that, 

1.  It  was  distinctly  for  their  doctrine  that  christians 
were  then  persecuted. 

2.  The  purpose  of  the  Emperor,  though  springing 
from  a  different  cause,  coincided  with  the  feelings  of  the 
heathen  public,  to  whose  bitterness  and  savage  nature  the 
style  of  the  executions  was  due. 

3.  Local  magistrates  were  sometimes  forced  beyond 
all  legal  forms  by  the  demands  of  the  mob. 

4.  Jews  retained  their  old  malignity,  though  no  longer 
in  condition  to  execute  it  of  themselves. 

5.  The  endurance  of  the  martyrs  at  that  time  was  due 
to  christian  faith,  not  to  mere  physical  energy  or  impassive 
nerves,  nor  to  the  fanaticism  for  martyrdom. 

6.  It  was  the  superior  claims  of  the  Christian's  God, 
and  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection  and  the  life  in  Christ 
which  chiefly  exasperated  the  wrath  of  the  heathen. 

The  second  century  from  the  end  of  its  first  quarter 
onward,  was  a  period  fertile  in  heresies.  Without  a  sys- 
tematic theology  to  sustain  and  restrain  them,  and  with  a 
terminology  general  and  undefined,  men  ran  wild  in  specul- 
ation. Early  christians  uninspired  had  no  more  certainty 
of  being  always  in  the  right  than  christians  of  later  days  ; 
and  from  lack  of  experience  were  more  likely  to  make  mis- 
takes. 

Knowledge  of  the  heresies  of  that  time,  especially  of 
Gnosticism,  is  best  obtained  from  Irenaeus  who  came  from 
Smyrna  into  Gaul  as  a  missionary,  and  after  the  death  of 
Pothinus  in  177,  became  bishop  of  the  church  in  Lyons, 
where  he  continued  to  labor  until  his  death.  The  best  ex- 
ponent of  Montanism  is  Tertullian. 

During  this  period  the  principal  efforts  of  christian 
writers  were  addressed  to  evidences  of  the  truth  of  their 
religion,  and  of  its  benign  effects  upon  private  life  and  the 
order  of  society,  and  to  counteract  the  progress  of  heresy. 
The  oldest,  and  still  the  best  of  the  creeds,  called  the 
Apostles',  now  makes  its  elementary  appearance.  It  occurs 
in  various  forms  in  Irenaeus,  Tertullian  and  Origen.     And 


34 

from  the  fact  that  it  does  appear  under  a  variety  of  forms, 
there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  it  is  apostolic  in  any  other 
sense  than  that  of  presenting  a  summary  of  the  Apostles' 
doctrine. 

3.  Though  christians  had  their  honored  traditions,  and 
some  books  were  in  use  among  them  which  are  no  longer 
extant,  the  books  of  Holy  Scripture,  as  they  have  come 
down  to  us,  were  the  standard  of  their  faith.  Quotations 
from  them  are  frequent  in  the  writings  of  the  early  fathers 
and  apologists. 

The  Greek  originals  of  the  New  Testament  were  gen- 
erally in  use,  both  in  the  East  and  West,  and  the  Septu- 
agint,  or  Old  Greek  version  of  the  Old  Testament.  But 
translations,  for  instruction  of  the  unlearned,  were  at  an 
early  date  made  into  Syriac  for  the  east,  and  into  Latin  for 
the  west,  as  early  as  the  second  century.  One  of  the  oldest 
of  those  versions  was  the  Itala,  which  in  course  of  time 
came  to  be  very  highly  esteemed  and  commonly  used.  An- 
other Latin  version  it  is  thought  existed  in  Gaul ;  and  a 
third  must  have  been  made  within  the  same  period  for  the 
use  of  the  churches  in  Africa. 

4.  External  uniformity  was  not  enforced  over  the 
churches  by  any  central  authority,  nor  by  any  all-compre- 
hending general  government.  Coordinate  churches  held 
more  or  less  intercourse  by  letter,  and  by  transfer  of  mem- 
bers from  one  to  another,  and  in  cases  of  common  danger, 
churches  of  the  same  province,  or  even  of  more  extensive 
tracts  of  country,  held  councils  or  conferences  together. 
And  all  the  churches  treated  each  other  as  members  of  one 
great  commonwealth,  and  all  adhered  to  fundamentally  the 
same  system  of  polity,  discipline  and  worship.  And  all 
claimed  the  right  of  interfering  with  remonstrance  and  re- 
proof where  any  one  had  departed  from  the  common 
standard. 

3. — Christian  Schools. 

Another  section  of  this  period  of  church  history  is 
marked  by  the  rise  to  distinction  of  the  great  christian 
schools,  whereby  the  character  of  learning,  or  erudition  is 
for  the  first  time  attached  to  Christian  literature.  That  may 
be  considered  as  the  principal  feature  of  church  progress 


35 

until  the  rise  of  the  controversy  on  episcopal  rights  and 
prerogatives.  The  section  begins  with  the  persecution  un- 
der Septimius  Severus  in  202.  and  closes  with  the  legaliz- 
ing of  Christianity  by  Gallienus  in  261. 

The  men  whose  lives  and  labors  express  the  special 
purpose  of  the  period  are  its  great  scholars  and  theolog- 
ians ;  in  Greek,  Pantaenus,  Julius  Africanus,  Hippolytus, 
and  others;  and  in  the  Latin,  Tertullian,  Minutius  Felix 
and  CypnajL.  The  quarters  in  which  christian  learning  ap- 
peared "with  greatest  distinction  were  Egypt,  Syria,  Asia 
Minor  and  North  Africa:  and  chief  of  all,  the  great  empor- 
ium of  Alexandria  in  Egypt. 

From  earliest  date  in  the  history  of  the  church  it  was 
customary  to  provide  instruction  for  children  and  converts 
from  heathenism.  The  method  employed  was  chiefly  oral, 
although  books  were  also  used.  The  term  xarrj-)^iu), 
or  ■/.a-y)^''!^co,  was  employed  in  relation  to  it.  The  name 
given  to  the  work  was  xazrjj^rjai^,  and  the  persons  so  in- 
structed were  xa--/^j^6i>fj.zV0!,  etc. 

Besides  these  schools,  a  more  advanced  education  was 
provided  for  those  who  were  to  be  ministers  of  the  gospel. 

Of  all  the  church  schools  both  for  catechumens  and 
for  ministers  the  most  eminent  were  those  of  AntiQch  and 
of  Alexandn'a,  and  although  not  so  much  is  said  about  the 
schools  in  Carthage,  that  city  was  distinguished  by  its 
gifted  and  learned  men. 

Athenagoras,  one  of  the  primitive  apologists,  is  men- 
tioned as  a  teacher  in  Alexandria  in  the  second  century. 
But  it  was  when  Pataenus  and  his  pupil  Clement  were 
united  in  the  management  of  its  instructions,  in  the  first 
years  of  the  third  century,  that  it  began  to  take  its  place  at 
the  head  of  christian  schools. 

It  was  distinguished  from  the  Moiiseion,  that  is,  the 
polytheistic  university  of  the  Ptolomies,  by  the  name  Didas- 
caleion.  There,  christian  theology  was  first  subjected  to 
scientific  treatment,  in  the  exigencies  of  catechetical  instruc- 
tion and  of  apologetics,  in  defence  against  Jews,  heretics, 
and  heathen.  Alexandria  was  at  once  the  chief  seat  of 
Polytheistic  and  of  Jewish  learning,  and  from  it  issued  the 
most  elaborate  and  ingeniously  constructed  Gnosticism. 
The  reputation  of  the  christian  school,  built  up  by  Pantae- 
nus and  Clement,  was  sustained  by  the  uncommon  intel- 


36 

lectual  endowments  of  Origen,  by  far  the  most  laborious 
man  of  his  day. 

After  the  withdrawal  of  Origen  in  231,  the  Didascalcion 
was  conducted  by  his  pupil  Heraclas  until  233,  and  until 
248,  by  Dionysius,  whose  reputation  in  ancient  times  was 
equal  to  that  of  Clement  and  Origen.  In  those  men  did 
the  christian'  school  of  Alexandria  see  the  highest  point  of 
her  erudition.  Most  of  their  writings  have  perished,  except 
the  two  last  named.  Clement  is  most  valuable  in  the  field 
of  paedagogic  and  antiquities,  Origen,  in  that  of  Biblical 
scholarship  and  theology.  His  views  of  doctrine  guided 
the  thinking  of  a  large  number  of  the  ministry  for  many 
generations,  and  some  of  the  most  bitterly  debated  heresies 
had  their  root  in  his  teaching. 

Meanwhile  the  Syrian  school,  which  had  its  seat  at 
Antioch,  was  rising  towards  that  eminence,  which  it 
matured  a  hundred  years  later.  Not  a  university,  like  the 
Polytheistic  and  christian  institutions  of  Alexandria,  it  was 
a  widely  influential  centre  of  Theological  learning.  In  the 
early  part  of  the  third  century  its  greatest  ornament  was 
Julius  Afric^nus,  a  native  of  Emmaus  in  Palestine,  where 
most'ofliis  life  was  spent.  His  principal  work  was  Annals 
of  the  world  from  the  creation,  of  which  only  parts  are 
extant.     He  died  in  232. 

2.  After  the  death  of  Commodus,  in  192,  we  enter  upon 
a  new  period  of  imperial  history.  From  the  death  of 
Julius  Caesar,  regard  for  him  had  conferred  the  accumu- 
lated honors  upon  his  legal  heir,  and  as  long  as  adoption 
continued  the  succession  the  empire  was  hereditary  in  his 
family.  With  the  death  of  Nero  that  came  to  an  end  ;  and 
the  power  of  appointment  to  the  highest  office  was  grasped 
by  the  army.  Restrained  early  by  the  accession  of  the 
Flavian  family,  that  evil  was  successfully  repelled  for  a 
much  longer  time  by  the  wise  method  of  Nerva,  which 
secured  a  steady  rule  until  the  death  of  Commodus.  Then, 
all  check  upon  election  by  the  army  being  removed,  the 
decline  of  Imperial  authority  began.  Pertinax  was  raised 
to  the  throne,  but  retained  it  only  three  months.  Didius 
Julianus  purchased  it  by  a  large  bounty  to  the  Pretorian 
guard,   but   lost  it  together    with    his   life   in   about    two 


-/ 


^ 


it 


t 


So^ 


37 

months.  More  reliable  military  support  sustained  other 
candidates,  among  whom  Septimius  Severus  with  the  army 
of  lUyricum  proved  successful.  The  Pretorian  guards  were 
disbanded,  and  Severus  organized  in  their  stead  a  new 
force,  more  numerous,  and  for  himself  more  reliable.  He 
proved  a  stern,  but  successful  ruler,  both  in  peace  and  war. 
After  a  campaign  of  great  exposure  in  Britain,  he  died  at 
York,  in  21 1,  having  reigned  from  193. 

In  the  first  years  of  Severus,  Christians  suffered  only 
from  the  animosity  of  the  heathen  populace  and  some  of 
the  provincial  governors.  But  in  202  an  imperial  edict  was 
issued  forbidding  any  who  were  heathen  to  become  christ- 
ian. Of  course  it  bore  heaviest  upon  those  who  conducted 
christian  worship  and  the  schools  of  the  church.  It  was 
thus  that  Clemens  and  Pantaenus,  were  driven  from  their 
work  in  Alexandria,  that  Leonidas,  the  father  of  Origen, 
was  brought  to  the  block,  and  that  Potamiaena,  Perpetua, 
and  Felicitas,  and  many  others  sealed  their  testimony  with 
their  blood.  Yet  the  edict  was  obeyed  in  only  some  pro- 
vinces, and  was  not  long  enforced. 

In   the   reign  of  Caracalla,  the  son   and   successor   of 
Serverus,  the  Roman  empire  began  to  experience  the  effects 
of  waning  power.     The  emperor  impoverished  his  subjects 
to  pamper  the  army,  and   purchased  the  privilege  of  peace 
from  his  enemies.     Having  made  himself  odious  at  Rome, 
he  extended  Roman  citizenship   to  all   the  subjects  of  the 
empire,  and  withdrew  from  the  city.      He  was  put  to  death 
by  Macrinus,  Prefect  of  the  Pretorian  guard,  (in  217.)    The 
assassin  took  his  place,  but  was  slain  next  year  by  the  sol- 
diers, who  set  up  Heliogabalus,  a  boy  of  fourteen  years  of 
age.     At  the   end    of  four  years  the   boy-emperor,  preco- 
cious in  profligacy,  met  the  fate  he  had   ordered  for  many 
others.     With  such    rulers   religion  was   a   matter  of  little 
concern.     And  when,  in  222,  Alexander  Severus  succeeded 
to  the  throne,  one  of  his  first   acts  was  to  revoke  all  edicts 
against   christians.      His   mother  Julia    Mammaea   was    so 
friendly  to  them  that  many  believed  her  one  of  their  num- 
ber.    The  liberality    of    Alexander  was   extended   to   the 
great  and  good  of  every  name.      His  domestic  chapel  con- 
tained  busts  standing  for   Abraham,  for    Christ,  Orpheus, 
and  Apollonius  of  Tyana  ;  and  the   golden   rule  of  Christ 
he  had  inscribed  upon  the  walls  of  his  palace. 


38 

In  the  fourth  year  of  his  reign,  Persian  nationality  was 
revived  under  Ardishir  Babegan,  who  overthrew  the  Par- 
thians,  renewed  the  claims  of  the  successors  of  Cyrus,  and 
prepared  to  drive  the  Romans  from  Asia.  The  Avestan 
religion  was  restored,  and  Christians  were  driven  back  into 
the  empire,  or  subjected  to  severe  oppression— the  begin- 
ning of  long  continued  persecution  in  that  quarter.  Sas- 
sanide  princes  recognized  no  such  affinity  between  their 
degenerate  Avestanism  and  the  gospel  of  Christ,  as  their 
hero  Cyrus  had  recognized  between  the  Avestan  faith  of 
his  day  and  the  religion  of  the  Jews. 

The  first  Persian  invasion  Alexander  successfully  re- 
sisted ;  and  had  turned  his  victorious  arms  against  enemies 
in  the  north,  when  he  was  murdered.  He  had  reigned 
thirteen  years.  Maximin,  a  Thracian,  was  elevated  by 
the  army.  He  exhibited  his  hatred  to  the  christians  by 
indulging  the  heathen  populace  in  their  cruelties  to  them, 
and  directing  his  own  attacks  upon  their  clergy.  At  the 
end  of  about  three  years  (238)  he  was  slain  by  his  own 
soldiers. 

In  this  instance  the  senate  at  Rome  disputed  the  right 
of  the  army  in  the  north  to  appoint  a  master  for  the  empire, 
and  favored  the  election  of  Gordian,  proconsul  of  Africa ; 
and  when  he  was  slain,  transferred  their  preference  to  a 
younger  member  of  his  family,  a  boy  of  twelve  years.  At 
the  end  of  six  years  the  younger  Gordian  was  murdered 
by  order  of  Philip  the  Arabian,  who  assumed  the  purple 
in  his  stead. 

Under  the  jurisdiction  of  Gordian  the  churches  were 
not  molested ;  and  Philip  was  even  friendly.  In  249  he 
was  defeated  in  battle  with  Decius,  and  slain.  Decius 
marked  his  reign  by  issuing,  in  249,  an  order  to  all  gov- 
ernors of  provinces  to  return  to  the  ancient  State  religion, 
and  to  enforce  it  with  the  severest  penalties,  thereby  insti- 
tuting one  of  the  most  sanguinary  persecutions  that  the 
church  has  ever  been  called  to  endure.  It  extended  to  the 
whole  empire.  It  was  also  occasion  of  much  subsequent 
controversy  touching  the  discipline  of  those  who  had  suc- 
cumbed to  suffering,  or  fear. 

Decius,  slain  in  battle  with  the  Goths,  in  251,  was  suc- 
ceeded by  Gallus,  who  renewed  the  persecution  after  a  brief 


39 

relaxation.  But,  in  253,  Gallus  was  slain  by  his  soldiers. 
His  successor,  Emilianus,  met  the  same  fate  in  three 
months.  Valerian  was  raised  to  the  throne,  and  held  it 
until  260,  when  he  was  defeated  and  taken  prisoner  by  the 
Persians. 

Persecution,  restrained  in  the  first  years  of  Valerian, 
was  revived  in  257.  By  Gallienus,  the  son  and  successor 
of  Valerian,  it  was  brought  to  an  end,  in  261,  and  Christ- 
ianity recognized  as  a  lawful  religion,  received  for  the  first 
time  a  title  to  governmental  toleration.  Gallienus  issued 
his  edict  immediately  upon  finding  himself  sole  emperor, 
but  as  Macrianus  usurped  authority  in  the  east  it  did  not 
take  effect  over  the  whole  empire  until  the  usurper's  defeat, 
in  261.  Thence  forward,  until  the  nineteenth  year  of  Dio- 
cletian, Christians  suffered  little  molestation,  from  the 
imperial  hand. 

3.  They  were  still  the  minority  of  the  population  upon 
the  whole,  but  in  some  provinces  more  numerous  than  the 
heathen,  and  their  doctrines  had  now  become  generally 
known.  They  could  no  longer  be  treated  with  contempt. 
Nor  could  the  charges  of  disloyalty,  or  of  immoral  con- 
duct any  longer  be  advanced  against  them  ;  but  that  of 
atheism,  as  the  heathen  meant  it,  was  fully  established. 
Their  cause  was  distinctly  apprehended  to  be  death  to  the 
worship  of  the  gods,  and  to  the  very  belief  in  their  exist- 
ence. 

Christian  influence  had  by  the  time  of  Gallienus  been 
operating  so  long  that  it  had  wrought  an  important  change 
upon  the  moral  character  of  society  in  general.  Vices  once 
so  common  as  to  be  little  blamed,  were  now  branded  with 
disgrace ;  and  certain  abominations  once  practised  in 
heathen  temples,  and  esteemed  essential  parts  of  worship, 
had  ceased  ;  and  were  now  regarded  as  corruptions,  from 
which  Polytheism  had  purified  itself  in  returning  to  its  own 
standards.  That  Christianity  had  some  good  in  it  was  not 
now  denied  ;  but  it  was  urged  that  Polytheism  had  more, 
and  that  it  maintained  a  reverence  for  the  gods,  and  a  ritual 
worship  indispensable  to  the  completeness  of  the  service 
men  owed  them.  It  was  argued  that  the  virtues  of  Christ- 
ians were  disfigured  by  a  low  and  tasteless  manner  of  life, 
a  barbarous  form  of  worship  and  rude  fanatical  spirit,  and 


40 

that  by  their  Atheism  they  were  bringing  down  the  wrath 
of  the  gods  upon  the  empire  The  attitude  of  the  most  in- 
telligent heathen  towards  Christianity  and  their  own  religion 
was  not  unlike  that  of  the  Bramo  Somaj  in  India,  at  the 
present  time  :  and  the  Neo-Platonic  philosophy  was  ac- 
cepted as  their  guide. 

Ammonius  Saccas,  the  founder  of  that  philosophy, 
died  in  243,  at  the  age  of  more  than  eighty  years.  His 
system  was  one  of  which  some  elements  of  Christianity 
and  of  oriental  speculation  were  engrafted  upon  the  stock 
of  Platonism. 

The  heathen  had  also  their  wonder-working  sage,  in 
the  Pythagorean  philosopher,  Apollonius  of  Tyana,  who 
lived  in  the  time  of  Christ's  appearance  and  obtained  some 
distinction  in  letters.  A  work  professing  to  give  an  ac- 
count of  him  was  written  about  the  year  220,  by  Philostra- 
tus,  at  the  instance  of  Julia  Domna,  the  wife  of  Septimius 
Severus.  It  represents  Apollonius  as  travelling  in  many 
countries  in  the  east,  teaching  and  disputing  about  religion 
under  an  assumed  divine  authority,  and  working  miracles 
like  Christ,  but  also  practising  heathenish  falsehood  and 
deception. 

4.  It  was  still  around  the  question  of  the  wonderful 
person  of  Christ  that  the  theological  discussions  of  Christ-, 
ians  arrayed  themselves.  But  the  principal  point  was  no 
longer  whether  his  body  was  real  or  not ;  it  was  now  of 
his  Deity.  And  the  bearing  of  the  controversy  was  deter- 
mined by  the  opinions  of  those  who  taught  the  singleness 
of  person  in  Godhead,  called  by  the  general  name  Mon- 
archianism.  "*^ 

That  style  of  doctrine  presented  itself  in  several  forms, 
one  of  which  was  but  a  variation  upon  Ebionism,  teaching 
that  Christ  was  only  a  man  conceived  by  miraculous 
means,  and  endowed  with  the  divine  wisdom  from  his 
birth.  The  power  of  God  was  conferred  upon  him  in 
greater  degree  than  upon  the  prophets,  or  any  other  hu- 
man being.  The  distinction  of  the  party  holding  this 
doctrine  was  due  to  Theodotus,  a  Byzantine,  who  came  to 
Rome  in  the  latter  part  of  the  second  century. 

Similar  was  the  teaching  of  Artemon  about  the  same 
time  in  Rome.     Although  rejected  by  christians  generally 


41 

and  by  some  eminent  writers,  it  continued  to  be  defended 
by  a  party  through  the  first  half  of  the  third  century. 

A  second  variety  of  Monarchianism  was  that  which 
claimed  all  deity  for  Christ.  The  one  God,  who  in  other 
respects  is  the  Father,  becomes  in  his  appearance  in  human 
nature,  the  Son.  Jesus  was  divine  by  the  indwelling  of  the 
only  person  in  Godhead. 

This  doctrine  was  first  preached  in  Rome  by  Praxeas 
who  came  from  Asia  Minor  about  the  end  of  the  reign  of 
Commodus  ([92.)  By  opposition  to  Montanus  he  drew 
upon  himself  the  censure  of  Tertullian,  who  charged  his 
doctrine  .with  seeking  to,  commend  itself  as  teaching  the 
monarchy  of  God.  The  expression  has  given  a  general 
name  for  that  class  of  heresies. 

For  holding  doctrines  similar  to  those  of  Praxeas, 
Noetus  was  excommunicated  in  Smyrna,  in  230.  Some- 
times this  class  of  Monarchians  were  called  Patripassian, 
according  to  a  saying  of  Tertullian  about  Praxeas,  that 
"  two  works  of  the  Devil  he  wrought  in  Rome,  he  drove 
out  prophecy  and  brought  in  heresy,  put  the  Holy  Spirit 
to  flight  and  crucified  the  Father." 

Between  the  Patripassian  and  the  orthodox  apparently 
was  the  doctrine  preached  by  Beryllus  of  Bostra,  that,  be- 
fore the  incarnation,  the  Son  of  God  existed  in  the  Father, 
but  not  as  a  separate  personality.  He  become  a  separate 
person  when  he  assumed  huinan  nature.  At  a  synod  m 
Bostra  (244)  Beryllus  listened  to  his  own  refutation  by 
Origen,  and  recanted. 

Another  doctrine  of  kindred  nature  was  that  of  Sabel- 
HuSt  a  presbyter  in  Ptolemais,  between  250  and  260,  who 
taught  that  the  Father,  Son  and  Holy  Spirit  were  not,  in 
the  common  acceptation,  different  persons,  but  different 
manifestations  of  the  same  person.  Christ  was  divine,  not 
as  an  emanation  from  God,  not  by  indwelling  of  the  Father  ; 
but  as  that  particular  manifestation  called  the  Son.  We 
conceive  of  God  in  his  self- existent,  creative  and  all-sup- 
porting power,  as  the  Father  ;  in  the  illuminating  power  of 
the  Logos,  as  the  Son,  and  in  his  enlivening  power  in  the 
hearts  of  believers,  as  the  Holy  Spirit;  and  thus  have  three 
divine  energies  in  one  person. 


42 

Moreover  Sabellius  believed  that  the  man  Jesus  was 
not  a  common  man,  but  specially  prepared  for  that  union 
with  Deity. 

By  the  churches  in  general  the  doctrine  of  a  trinity  in 
unity  of  the  Godhead  was  held  as  firmly  as  at  any  other 
time  ;  but  discussion  of  the  subject  was  working  towards  a 
logical  expression,  not  yet  satisfactorily  attained. 

Controversy  also  arose  out  of  the  method  of  scriptural 
interpretation  adopted  by  the  Alexandrian  School,  and 
especially  b}^  Origen.  That  method  recognized  a  three- 
fold meaning  in  Scripture,  namely  the  literal,  or  historical, 
the  moral,  and  the  mystical.  By  urging  the  mystical 
meaning  of  certain  texts  Origen  was  charged  with  some- 
times denying  the  historical  ;  and  the  method,  if  it  had 
some  advocates,  also  encountered  strong  opposition. 

5.  Origen  in  his  theology  also  gave  occasion  to  much 
controversy.  His  views  were  expressed  in  commentaries 
on  Scripture,  and  in  separate  treatises,  as  well  as  in  a  sys- 
tematic work  on  theology,  called  De  Principiis.  That  work 
was  assailed  from  various  quarters  as  containing  heresy,  it 
was  also  defended  by  some  of  the  ablest  writers  of  that  and 
the  succeeding  century.  It  was  both  accused  and  defended 
on  the  charge  of  Platonism.  Although  obviously  designed 
to  controvert  Gnostic  speculations,  it  was  colored  to  some 
extent  by  them.     The  principal  points  of  his  system  were: 

{fi)  That  God  is  everlastingly  active,  creating  from  and 
to  all  eternity. 

[b)  That  all  intellectual  beings,  are  originally  equal, 
and  clothed  in  bodies,  God  being  the  only  disembodied 
spirit.  The  differences  among  men  are  due  to  their  re- 
maining holy  or  sinking  in  sin.  But  all  are  free  to  return 
to  righteousness,  even  the  Devil  is  capable  of  amelioration 
and  pardon. 

ic)  The  Logos,  the  Mediator  of  all  divine  agency,  and 
inferior  to  the  supreme  God,  did  not  proceed  from  the 
essence  of  the  Father,  as  an  emanation,  but  as  a  constant 
ray  of  the  divine  glory,  was  generated  by  the  will  of  God 
from  eternity. 

[d]  The  Holy  Spirit,  and  all  other  beings  were  created 
by  the  Logos. 


43 

(e)  In  Jesus  the  Logos  united  himself  to  a  real  body 
and  a  human  soul,  both  specially  prepared  for  him. 

(/)  That  the  Holy  Spirit  impresses  divine  truth  upon 
men  to  their  salvation. 

(^)  That  the  world  had  a  beginning,  and  will  have  an 
end,  but  in  the  triumph  of  the  work  of  Christ. 

{/i)  That  Scripture,  both  old  Testament  and  new,  is 
divinely  inspired. 

{i)  To  attain  the  highest  virtue,  a  man  must  be  free 
from  all  restraints  of  sensuality,  and  of  self-interest,  having 
for  his  aim  to  be  like  God. 

(y)  Alexandrian  theologians  held  that  the  resurrec- 
tion body  will  not  be  of  earthly  material,  but  spiritual  and 
incorruptible. 

[k)  They  accordingly  rejected  the  expectations  of  sen- 
sual chiliasm. 

Origen  held  that  Christ  is  of  "a  nature. niidway  be- 
tween the  uncreated  and  that  of  all  creatures."  All 
creatures  derive  their  being  from  the  Father  through  the 
Son.     The  Son  proceeds  from  the  will  of  the  Father. 

Dionysius,  the  pupil  and  successor  of  Origen  in  the 
christian  school,  in  his  attempt  to  develop  the  idea  of  his 
master  more  precisely,  was  led  to  designate  the  Divine 
Logos  as  created  of  the  Father  from  all  eternity,  a  state- 
ment which  he  afterwards  withdrew,  or  explained  away. 

6.  It  was  commonly  believed  that  after  the  resurrec- 
tion there  would  be  an  earthly  kingdom  of  Christ,  in  which 
the  saints  should,  for  a  thousand  years,  enjoy  much  happi- 
ness. That  was  to  be  the  great  Sabbath  of  the  world's 
history,  and  was  to  occur,  as  some  thought,  after  the  lapse 
of  six  thousand  years  from  the  creation.  A  small  party, 
deriving  its  origin  from  Cerinthus,  expected  that  millennium 
as  a  period  for  enjoyment  of  sensual  pleasures.  A  literal 
acceptance  of  the  millennium  described  in  the  book  of 
Revelation  was  insisted  on  by  Nepos  and  Coracion, 
Egyptian  bishops.  But  their  teaching  on  that  point  was 
opposed  by  Dionysius  of  Alexandria  so  effectually  that 
before  a  synod  held  at  Arsinoe  in  255,  Coracion  professed 
himself  convinced  of  his  error  and  renounced  it.  Sub- 
sequently through  the  efforts  of  Dionysius  and  others  that 
style  of  chiliasm  was  abandoned  in   the  eastern  churches. 


44 

7-  During  this  period  we  find  more  frequent  mention 
of  edifices  exclusively  used  for  christian  worship.  In  202 
it  appears  that  there  was  a  church  building  in  Edessa. 
Alexander  Severus  gave  a  piece  of  land  in  Rome  for  a 
christian  place  of  worship,  and  the  edict  of  Gallienus  orders 
their  places  of  worship  to  be  restored  to  christians.  Such 
an  edifice  was  called  a  place  of  prayer  {npoavr/.vrjfnoii),  or  the 
Lord's  house  {bao^  y.opco:/Mz,  or  dr/.ia  '/.uptoxfj,  or  later  rb 
xopcaxov),  or  the  house  of  meeting,  or  of  the  church  [olxo^ 
ix/ATjalaz  or  simply  t/.x):f]aia).  From  early  in  the  third 
century,  the  idea  of  constructing  such  houses  more  or  less 
after  the  model  of  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  took  possession 
of  the  minds  of  christians  in  some  quarters.  And  where 
that  was  carried  out,  worship  began  to  be  celebrated  in  a 
more  formal  manner,  and  a  greater  distinction  to  be  made 
between  the  ministry  and  the  congregation.  Terms  also 
belonging  to  the  temple  and  the  temple  service  gradually 
crept  in. 

Holy  days,  from  the  middle  of  the  second  century, 
were  gradually  multiplied.  The  churches  in  some  places 
fasted  and  held  meetings  on  Wednesdays  and  Fridays,  the 
days  of  the  Lord's  betrayal  and  crucifixion.  And  the  ob- 
servation of  the  Lord's  Passion  and  of  Pentecost  was  fully 
established,  in  the  west,  as  well  as  in  the  east,  before  the 
close  of  the  second  century.  The  manner  of  that  observa- 
tion gave  rise  to  a  controversy  of  some  warmth.  The 
churches  of  Asia  Minor  observed  the  feast  on  the  14th  of 
the  first  Jewish  month,  Nisan,  and  on  the  third  day  after 
that,  the  memorial  of  the  resurrection,  following  closely 
the  historical  order,  although  the  day  of  the  month  did 
not,  of  course,  in  most  years  correspond  to  the  day  of  the 
week,  on  which  the  Lord  suffered.  The  church  of  Rome, 
on  the  other  hand,  with  those  of  Alexandria,  Jerusalem, 
Tyre  and  Caesarea  of  Palestine  adhered  strictly  to  the  days 
of  the  week  though  they  might  not  correspond  always  to 
the  same  days  of  the  month.  Touching  this  difference, 
Polycarp,  on  a  visit  to  Rome  in  162,  had  conference  with 
the  bishop  of  Rome,  but  neither  of  them  persuaded  the 
other,  nor  thought  it  of  such  importance  as  to  impair  their 
fraternal  affection.  But  about  196,  Victor,  bishop  of  Rome, 
assuming  such  pre-eminence  as  the  imperial  city  exercised 


45 

in  civil  matters,  and  claiming  superior  place  in  the  church 
as  successor  of  St.  Peter,  undertook  to  compel  the  churches 
of  Asia  Minor  into  compliance  with  the  western  practice, 
by  the  terrors  of  excommunication.  He  was  quickly  ad- 
monished of  his  error  by  several  bishops,  in  both  east  and 
west,  among  the  rest,  by  Polycrates  of  Ephesus,  and 
Irenaeus  of  Lyons.  The  case  ended  in  leaving  each  church 
to  decide  for  itself,  until  the  council  of  Nice,  129  years 
later,  acting  for  all  the  churches,  declared  in  favor  of  the 
western  custom.  The  Easter  observance  assumed  greater 
proportions  in  the  third  century.  The  chief  points  being 
the  crucifixion,  the  resurrection,  and  the  descent  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  on  the  day  of  Pentecost,  the  first  was  com- 
memorated by  fasting,  the  second  and  the  third  by  festi- 
vals, and  the  interval  between  them  as  the  Sabbath  of  the 
christian  year. 

Long  continued,  or  at  least,  frequently  recurring  per- 
secution had  constrained  the  christians,  in  many  countries, 
to  keep  their  times  and  places  of  worship  secret.  Secrecy 
began  to  be  regarded  as  an  essential  element  of  some  parts 
of  their  service,  which  were  spoken  of  as  mysteries.  Dur- 
ing the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper  it  was  thought 
proper  that  all  heathen,  and  unbaptized  spectators  should 
be  excluded.  At  Rome,  Naples,  Syracuse,  and  some  other 
places,  christians  found  refuge  in  caverns  beneath  the 
ground,  where  they  both  conducted  their  worship  and  buried 
their  dead.  Some  of  those  catacumbae  (catacombs)  have 
been  opened  within  recent  time. 

Inordinate  importance  was  now  attached  to  martyr- 
dom by  the  churches  generally  ;  Origen  went  the  length  of 
attributing  to  it  a  dignity  and  efficacy  similar  to  the  death 
of  Christ.  In  his  estimation,  persecution  was  a  real  good, 
and  its  cessation  contemplated  as  an  evil.  The  baptism  of 
blood  secured  acquittal  of  all  sin.  The  intercession  of 
martyrs  was  thought  to  be  of  avail  on  high. 

E.Korcism  of  persons  to  be  baptized  is  now  mentioned, 
that  is  certain  ceremonies  and  prayers  were  used  for  the 
purpose  of  casting  out  the  evil  spirits  who  were  supposed 
to  hold  all  unbaptized  persons  under  their  power.  De- 
mons, who  acted  the  part  of  gods  to  the  heathen,  submit- 
ted, at  the  name  of  Christ,  to  be  recognized  for  what  they 


46 

really  were,  and  to  depart  from  the  human  soul  whom  they 
afflicted.  A  heathen  idol  was  a  nonentity.  But  a  demon 
would  act  the  part  imputed  to  it,  and  thereby  lead  its  wor- 
shiper captive  at  his  will.  The  air  was  full  of  demons. 
Christ  had  established  dominion  over  them  on  behalf  of 
his  people.  At  the  mention  of  his  name  by  a  true  believer 
they  were  constrained  to  obey,  and  withdraw. 

4. — Beginning  of  Christian  Literature  in  the 
Latin  Language. 

In  the  last  years  of  the  second  century  we  first  meet 
with  christian  writings  in  Latin.  They  belong  to  the  church 
of  Northern  Africa,  and  are  the  earlier  works  of  Tertullian. 
The  history  of  the  North  African  church  begins  with  that 
eminent  Latin  father.  Already  it  consisted  of  a  great  num- 
ber of  prosperous  christian  communities. 

Tertullian  appears  first  as  an  apologist  about  190.  He 
was  a  native  of  Carthage,  son  of  a  proconsular  centurion, 
became  a  presbyter  in  the  church  of  his  native  city,  and 
wrote  a  great  number  of  works  in  the  christian  cause, 
chiefly  in  the  reigns  of  Severus  and  Caracalla,  between  193 
and  217.  After  he  had  passed  middle  life  he  embraced  the 
opinions  of  Montanus,  with  which  his  later  writings  are 
imbued.  About  the  same  time  Minutius  Felix,  a  Roman 
lawyer,  wrote  an  apologetic  work  in  defence  of  Christianity 
in  form  of  a  dialogue,  which  he  called  Octavius :  and  Caius, 
a  presbyter  at  Rome,  wrote  a  treatise  against  Montanism, 
while  Novatian,  also  a  presbyter  in  the  same  church,  de- 
fended that  faction,  and  introduced  it  into  the  west  of 
Europe. 

After  the  death  of  Tertullian,  the  most  eminent  leader 
of  ecclesiastical  opinion  was  Cyprian,  also  a  native  of  Africa, 
and  born  about  the  beginning  of  the  third  century.  Until 
middle  life  he  was  a  heathen,  but  carefully  educated.  Pos- 
sessed of  considerable  fortune,  upon  his  conversion  (246) 
he  sold  all,  and  distributed  the  price  to  the  poor.  Next 
year  he  was  ordained  presbyter  in  Carthage,  and  in  248, 
elected  bishop.  In  the  persecution  under  Decius  he  was 
marked  out  for  a  victim,  but  succeeded  in  eluding  arrest. 


47 

Eight  years  later,  in  the  persecution  under  Valerian,  he  was 
singled  out  with  such  purpose  that  escape,  if  practicable, 
was  not  within  what  he  deemed  the  bounds  of  duty  to  his 
people.  He  suffered  death  for  the  profession  of  his  faith  in 
the  year  258.  Much  of  Cyprian's  attention  was  constrained 
to  the  subjects  of  church  government  and  discipline,  and  to 
them  do  the  most  important  of  his  writings  pertain. 

2.  In  the  terrible  persecution  under  Decius,  and  con- 
tinued by  Gallus,  many  christians  fell  away,  and  denied 
their  faith  in  order  to  save  their  lives.  They  sacrificed  to 
heathen  gods,  offered  incense,  or  procured  certificates  from 
the  magistrates  that  they  were  not  christians,  and  were 
designated  accordingly  as  sacfificati,  thurificati^  or  libcllatici. 
Many  officers  of  persecution  did  not  wish  to  destroy  life, 
but  to  suppress  Christianity,  and  often  made  the  acts  of  com- 
pliance very  light.  But  to  a  true  christian  they  were  all 
alike  horrible.  For  the  slightest  mark  of  respect  to  heathen 
worship  was  to  pay  homage  to  a  demon.  When  the  per- 
secution had  passed  over,  many  who  had  thus  escaped 
made  application  to  be  taken  back  into  the  church.  It  be- 
came a  matter  of  no  little  difficulty  to  settle  the  terms  upon 
which  they  were  to  be  re-admitted  or  rejected. 

In  the  church  of  northern  Africa,  a  difference  in  the 
presbytery  upon  the  election  of  Cyprian  to  the  bishopric  of 
Carthage,  led  to  the  separation  of  a  miaority.  Five  pres- 
byters, at  whose  head  was  Novatus,  refused  to  approve  of 
the  election,  and  as  Cyprian  soon  afterwards  was  driven 
from  his  place  by  persecution,  they  proceeded  to  conduct 
their  affairs  without  him.  They  ordained  as  a  deacon 
Felicissimus,  who  subsequently  became  chief  of  the  party. 
The  question  of  the  lapsed  widened  the  schism.  Cyprian 
was  in  favor  of  imposing  a  severe  probation  upon  those  who 
wished  to  return  to  their  place  in  the  church  ;  Felicissimus 
and  his  party  would  re-admit  them  upon  the  simple  pre- 
sentation of  their  petition.  A  synod  of  the  African  church, 
which  met  in  251,  resolved  to  re-admit  the  lapsed  upon 
condition  of  their  repentance,  and  submission  to  such  pro- 
bationary exercises  as  the  church  might  think  proper  in 
each  particular  case. 

In  the  church  of  Rome,  about  the  same  time,  a  similar 
schism  took  place.     On  the  election  of  Cornelius  as  Bishop, 


48 

in  251,  a  minority  of  the  Presbytery  dissented  on  account 
of  his  leniency  towards  the  lapsed,  and  chose  Novatianus  as 
their  bishop.  The  course  adopted  by  them  touching  the 
lapsed  was  that  of  refusing  to  admit  them  on  any  terms, 
holding  as  a  general  principle  that  great  sins  committed 
after  baptism  should  exclude  from  the  privileges  of  the 
church.  A  considerable  number  of  both  clergy  and  laity 
joined  them,  and  formed  that  party,  which  either  took  or 
accepted  the  name  of  Cathari,  or  Puritans. 

A  synod  at  Rome,  in  251  took  action  against  that 
party,  and  in  favor  of  such  a  moderate  course  towards  the 
lapsed  as  that  adopted  by  the  synod  of  Carthage  in  the 
same  year. 

In  the  case  of  both  the  African  and  Roman  schisms 
the  dissenters  defended  their  organization  on  Presbyterian 
ground  in  opposition  to  the  high  prelatical  assumptions  of 
the  bishops  of  Rome  and  Carthage.  But  it  ivas  then  too 
late  to  organize  a  successful  resistance  to  prelacy  on  that 
ground,  directly  or  indirectly.  The  question  of  ministerial 
equality  had  already  to  be  debated  on  a  different  level. 
Two  Spanish  bishops,  Basilides  of  Leon  and  Martial  of 
Merida,  were  deposed  by  a  Spanish  Synod,  as  being  libel- 
latici.  They  applied  to  Stephen,  bishop  of  Rome,  for  his  in- 
fluence in  their  favor.  Stephen  assumed  to  restore  them, 
and  received  them  into  communion  with  his  church.  The 
Spanish  church  consulted  that  of  Africa,  which  at  a  Synod 
in  Carthage  censured  the  bishop  of  Rome  for  participation 
in  the  disorderly  conduct  of  the  deposed  bishops. 

3.  Again,  the  validity  of  baptism  by  heretics  had 
been  denied  by  the  African  churches,  at  a  council  held 
at  Carthage,  about  the  beginning  of  the  century,  and  by 
those  of  Asia  Minor,  in  a  council  at  Iconium  in  235. 
In  Rome,  and  some  other  places  in  the  west,  the  opposite 
view  v/as  taken,  and  acted  on.  Persons  having  received 
heretical  baptism  were  admitted  into  the  communion  of 
the  church  by  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  bishop. 
When  Stephen  became  bishop  in  Rome,  he  undertook 
to  constrain  all  churches  to  conform  to  the  custom  of  his 
own,  and  threatened  to  excommunicate  the  churches  in 
Asia  Minor,  if  they  adhered  to  their  discipline  in  that 
respect.     Firmilian  of  Caesarea  in  Cappadocia  wrote  a  long 


49 

epistle  to  Cyprian  on  the  subject,  in  which  he  criticised 
the  conduct  of  Stephen,  retorting  upon  him  the  charge  of 
schism  and  sharply  reproving  his  assumption.  Stephen  was 
also  censured  for  that  act  by  Dionysius  of  Alexandria.  In 
Africa  the  same  view  of  the  subject  was  taken  by  the 
synod  which  met  in  Carthage  in  254,  and  again  by  that  of 
255.  That  decision  was  communicated  to  the  bishop  of 
Rome  in  a  letter  drawn  up  by  Cyprian,  who  also  defended 
the  equality  of  all  bishops.  Stephen's  answer  to  the  African 
bishops  was  overbearing;  and  his  threat  was  repeated  that 
the  Roman  church  would  separate  from  their  communion. 
In  256  another  synod  at  Carthage  affirmed  the  action  of 
its  predecessors  ;  and  Cyprian  took  occasion  more  fully  to 
state  the  views  which  he  and  the  other  members  of  the 
synod  held  touching  the  equality  of  bishops. 

From  these  statements  it  appears  that  a  new  epoch 
has  been  reached  in  the  history  of  the  ministry.  The  dis- 
tinction between  presbyter  and  bishop  is  not  only  clearly 
made,  but  the  bishops  of  some  great  cities,  especially  of 
Rome,  are  beginning  to  assume  superiority  over  other 
bishops.  The  opposition  is  mainly  upon  an  episcopal  basis. 
Rome  is  now  spoken  of  as  the  chair  of  St.  Peter,  not  in 
the  sense  that  Peter  was  ever  bishop  there  ;  but  that  dur- 
ing a  visit  he  had  directed  the  afiairs  of  the  church,  as  an 
apostle.  The  pretension  of  the  Roman  bishop  is  not  ad- 
mitted by  the  bishops  of  Asia  Minor,  of  Alexandria,  of 
North  Africa  and  of  Spain.  But  in  opposing  it  on  the 
equality  of  bishops,  episcopacy  as  a  separate  rank  in  the 
ministry  is  more  fully  discussed  and  defined  than  ever  be- 
fore. By  Cyprian  the  essentials  of  the  church  are  held  to 
consist  in  a  particular  organization,  and  a  connection  with 
bishops  in  the  line  of  apostolic  appointment.  On  this  head 
he  coincided  with  the  majority  of  ecclesiastics  in  his  day  ; 
and  in  defending  it  constructed  the  foundation  for  the  very 
evil  he  was  controverting.  The  bishop  of  Rome  took  his 
stand  upon  the  greatness  of  his  church.  And  there,  in 
fact,  lay  the  difficulty  of  maintaining  episcopal  equality. 

The  greater  number  of  the  bishops,  whose  equality 
was  defended  by  Cyprian,  were  only  pastors  of  single 
congregations.  But  in  the  churches  of  great  cities,  the 
method    of  extension    developed  a  new    feature    of  epis- 


50 

copacy.  The  principle  that  all  the  christians  of  one  city 
should  form  but  one  church,  after  the  establishment  of  the 
rule  of  but  one  bishop  in  one  church,  inevitably  produced 
prelacy.  For  when  the  church  increased  in  numbers  and 
had  to  divide  into  several  congregations  the  one  bishop 
was  constrained  to  employ  presbyter  assistants  to  conduct 
worship  at  the  different  places  of  meeting.  And  these 
presbyters  necessarily  became  the  pastors  of  the  respective 
charges  over  which  they  were  set.  The  bishop  of  such  a 
city  church  became  the  chief  over  a  number  of  pastors, 
who  in  rank  were  only  presbyters  serving  under  his  appoint- 
ment, while  the  bishops  in  small  towns  and  country  places 
where  there  had  been  no  such  increase  of  numbers  remained 
bishops  over  only  their  single  respective  congregations. 
It  w.is  natural  that  the  bishop  who  presided  over  the  pas- 
tors of  several  congregations  should  assume  superiority 
over  him  who  had  pastoral  charge  of  only  one.  Such  is 
the  juncture  at  the  middle  of  the  third  century,  when  even 
the  bishop  of  Rome,  who  claims  a  place  of  superiority 
among  bishops,  has  yet  no  episcopal  jurisdiction  over  them, 
nor,  although  ruling  over  a  more  important  see  than  any 
of  the  rest,  does  he  yet  hold  a  superior  title  of  rank  above 
them.  It  was  a  state  of  things  which  could  not  continue. 
No  argument,  however  strong,  for  the  equality  of  bishops, 
in  circumstances  so  different,  could  withstand  the  tendency 
to  further  discrimination  of  ranks. 

It  is  also  within  this  period  that  regular  provincial 
councils  come  distinctly  to  notice.  In  the  second  century 
mention  is  often  made  of  councils  in  different  protinces,  as 
those  in  relation  to  Montanism,  held  at  Hierapolis  in  Phry- 
gia,  and  at  Anchialus  in  Thrace  ;  in  relation  to  the  Colar- 
basians,  held  at  Pergamus,  in  152,  on  the  Easter  observ- 
ance, held  at  Ephesus  196,  and  one  at  Rome  in  197,  also 
at  Jerusalem,  at  Caesarea,  in  Pontus,at  Lyons,  in  Osrhoene, 
and  in  Corinth.  Tertullian  speaks  of  councils  as  habitually 
held  in  Greece,  and  Firmilian  of  Cappadocia  mentions  them 
as  being  of  regular  recurrence  in  his  country,  but  of  very 
few  in  the  second  century  have  the  dates  been  recorded. 
Of  some  in  the  third  century  the  history  is  more  definite. 
There  were  councils  in  Carthage  in  218  or  220,  on  baptism 
of  heretics  ;  251,  in  relation  to  Felicissimus  ;  252,  on  early 


51 

baptism;  253,  on  baptism  of  infants  and  by  heretics  ;  254, 
in  relation  to  the  Spanish  bishops,  one  in  255,  and  two  in 
256,  relating  to  the  controversy  with  Rome. 

In  the  same  period  there  were  councils  at  Rome  in 
231,  251,  256,  and  260.  In  Alexandria  two  are  mentioned 
in  231  and  soon  after,  touching  the  disputes  of  Demetrius 
with  Origen.  Others  are  mentioned  elsewhere,  as  one  in 
Bostra  in  Arabia,  in  244,  one  at  Zambesa  in  Africa  in  or 
about  240,  at  Iconium  in  230  or  258,  at  Ephesus  in  245, 
in  Achaia,  in  or  about  250,  in  Narbonne  Gaul  in  255,  or 
260,  and  somewhere  in  Arabia  in  247. 

In  the  first  instance  Synods  held  in  check  the  increas- 
ing pretensions  of  the  bishops  of  great  cities;  but  latterly, 
by  defending  ministerial  equality  on  the  basis  of  episco- 
pacy, they  actually  constructed  the  most  effective  support 
for  that  ecclesiastical  aristocracy  which  soon  after  assumed 
its  position  in  the  churches.  For  consistently  with  the 
municipal  element  of  the  ancient  church,  and  which  was 
fundamental  in  the  ancient  idea  of  government,  the  presi- 
dency of  a  council  resided  in  the  bishop  of  the  chief  city 
of  the  province  in  which  it  was  held. 

From  heathen  mysteries  some  christians  borrowed  the 
idea  of  esoteric  and  exoteric  doctrines.  The  written  Word 
contained  the  exoteric,  or  public  instruction,  although  it 
also  beneath  its  obvious  sense  concealed  a  mystical  mean- 
ing, which  only  those  enlightened  by  esoteric  instruction 
could  descern.  Certain  things  were  also  taught  in  secret 
to  the  more  advanced  in  christian  attainment,  which  were 
said  to  have  been  communicated  by  Christ  to  his  disciples, 
but  never  committed  to  writing.  But  if  we  enquire  after 
these  mysterious  meanings,  we  can  find  nothing  but  fanci- 
ful speculation,  allegorical  treatment  of  Scripture,  or  pre- 
tended facts  of  little  value,  were  they  true. 

The  sacrament  of  Baptism  was  now  burdened  with 
ceremonies  giving  it  much  of  the  character  of  initiation  to 
mysteries.  And  in  some  churches  none  were  permitted  to 
witness  the  administration  who  had  not  been  themselves 
baptized.  In  some  churches,  if  not  generally,  the  candi- 
date for  baptism  was  first  exorcised,  to  drive  away  evil 
spirits  from  him.  Then,  after  application  of  the  water,  the 
kiss  of  peace  was   given   him,  and  a  mixture  of  milk  and 


52 

honey  was  administered.  He  was  then  anointed  and 
marked  on  the  forehead  with  the  sign  of  the  cross.  After 
which  the  minister  laid  his  hands  upon  him,  and  bestowed 
the  benediction. 

The  baptism  of  children  was  the  common  order  of 
the  church,  although  not  universal.  For  some,  as  the  Mon- 
tanists  and  Cathari,  holding  that  heinous  sin  after  baptism 
could  not  be  pardoned,  opposed  infant  baptism,  and  even 
in  the  case  of  adults,  encouraged  the  deferring  of  it  until 
late  in  life,  or  the  threatened  approach  of  death. 

Sponsors  were  also  introduced  in  som.e  churches  in 
the  time  of  Tertullian  who  opposed  the  practice,  as  an- 
other objectionable  consequence  of  infant  baptism. 

In  the  Lord's  supper  we  read  from  Justin  Martyr, 
that  wine  mingled  with  water  was  used,  it  was  the  common 
way  of  using  wine  at  table  ;  but  in  the  third  century,  super- 
stition recognized  a  mystery  in  that  mixture.  The  water 
represented  the  people,  the  wine,  the  blood  of  Christ,  and 
their  mingling,  the  union  of  Christ  with  the  multitude  of 
the  faithful.  Still,  the  mixture  of  wine  and  water  was  in 
itself  only  wine  and  water. 

The  notion  of  sacrificial  efficacy  in  the  elements  had 
begun  to  prevail,  as  early  as  the  time  of  Tertullian.  And 
in  some  places  the  sacrament  was  observed  daily,  under 
the  belief  that  it  was  the  spiritual  food  of  the  soul,  to 
which  the  fourth  petition  of  the  Lord's  Prayer  referred, 
and  which  imparted  to  the  material  frame  of  the  believer 
the  germ  of  immortality. 

In  earlier  times  the  preparation  of  catechumens  was 
merely  their  instruction  and  that  fraternal  treatment  which 
elicited  evidences  of  their  piety  ;  but  by  and  by,  it  began 
to  assume  the  color  of  austerities,  after  the  manner  of  ini- 
tiation to  heathen  mysteries.  Then  the  re-admission  of 
those  excommunicated  for  great  sins  was  thought  to  require 
a  discipline  still  more  severe.  The  numerous  cases  of  the 
lapsed,  about  the  middle  of  the  3d  century  seemed  to  render 
that  course  necessary  to  the  purity  of  the  church.  Thus 
was  the  practice  of  penance  fully  inaugurated  before  the 
death  of  Cyprian;  and  even  those  who  dissented  from  it 
contributed  to  define  it.  The  Novatians  would  re-admit 
none  who  had  been  guilty  of  great  sin  after  baptism  ;   they 


53 

had  therefore  to  distinguish  between  sins  deadly  and  sins 
venial. 

In  the  large  chu/ches  it  was  thought  expedient  to  ap- 
point a  presbyter  to  examine  penitents  and  hear  from  them 
what  they  were  willing  to  confess  before  the  congregation, 
and  to  announce  to  each  the  penance  demanded  of  him  by 
the  existing  regulations,  and  the  class  of  penitents  among 
whom  he  should  appear.  Such  an  officer  was  called  the 
Presbyter  pLViiitcntiarius. 

It  is  plain  that  there  was  during  the  first  half  of  the 
third  century  a  great  influx  of  error  and  of  mistaken  prac- 
tice ;  yet  it  was  a  momentous  period  to  ecclesiasticism  and 
christian  learning.  And  in  the  glimpses  which  we  obtain 
into  the  private  character  of  christians,  both  men  and  wo- 
men, we  behold  the  most  beautiful  fruits  of  the  life  in  Christ. 
The  leading  minds  in  the  christian  literature  of  the  time 
were  the  great  teachers  in  the  school  at  Alexandria,  Pan- 
taenus,  Clement,  Origen,  Heraclas,  and  Dionysius;  secondly, 
the  African  fathers,  Tertullian  and  Cyprian ;  thirdly,  those 
of  the  Syrian  School,  of  whom  Julius  Africanus  was  the 
most  illustrious,  nor  ought  Beryllus  of  Bostra  to  be  over- 
looked in  the  history  of  doctrinal  development ;  fourthly 
those  of  Asia  Minor,  represented  by  Firmilian  and  Gregory 
Thaumaturgus,  and  some  of  the  earliest  Monarchians ; 
fifthly,  those  of  Rome,  Minutius  Felix,  and  the  bishops 
Cornelius  and  Stephen,  Hippolytus  was  an  illustrious  Chris- 
tian author  in  connection  with  that  Church,  but  he  wrote 
in  the  Greek  language;  and  sixthly,  some  bishops  of  Spain 
and  of  Gaul  appear  as  leaders  of  opinion,  of  whose  writings 
little  or  nothing  remains.  By  far  the  most  valuable  writ- 
ings of  the  time  are  those  left  by  the  great  christian  scholars 
of  Alexandria  and  Carthage. 

IV.— 261  TO  325  A.D. 

Growth  of  the  Hierarchy. 

From  the  legalizing  of  Christianity  in  261  a  new  stage 
of  church  history  began,  and  continued  until  325,  when 
Constantine,  carried  to  the  throne  of  the  empire  by  Chris- 
tian arms,  commenced  the  reconstruction  of  the  whole,  not 


54 

as  a  dominion  of  annexed  provinces,  but  as  one  organic 
whole,  into  which  Christianity  was  interwoven  as  the  state 
rehgion,  and  called  the  first  general  council  of  the  church. 

1.  It  included  the  last  period  of  persecution  inflicted 
by  authority  of  the  Roman  government. 

2.  Secondly,  its  issue  was  the  triumph  of  Christianity 
as  the  stronger  power  in  the  empire. 

3.  It  was  the  period  of  diocesan  aristocracy,  during 
which  bishops,  claimmg  equality  among  themselves,  held 
in  common  superiority  over  the  other  clergy,  while  some 
were  gradually  establishing  their  superiority  among  bishops. 

4.  Fourthly,  it  was  the  period  of  controversy  with  the 
ablest  leaders  of  the  Neo-Platonic  philosophy. 

The  time  when  the  imperial  office  was  entirely  in  the 
gift  of  the  army,  and  which  began  with  the  death  of  Corn- 
modus,  lasted  until  the  accession  of  Diocletian  in  284.  Its 
latter  years  exhibited  the  empire  almost  in  a  state  of 
anarchy.  Division  was  as  active  in  the  state,  as  organiza- 
tion in  the  church.  Gallienus  reigned  from  260  until  268  ; 
but  so  many  were  his  rivals  that  they  have  in  a  general 
way  received  the  name  of  the  thirty  in  reference  to  the 
Thirty  tyrants  in  Athens.  Gallienus  was  himself  murdered 
by  one  of  them,  who  was  defeated  in  his  expectation  of  the 
throne  by  the  fact  that  Gallienus  had  already  designated 
Claudius  as  his  successor,  and  by  the  superiority  of  Claudius 
on  the  battle  field.  Claudius  died  in  270.  His  successor 
retained  the  honor  only  \y  days.  Aurelian  conquered  the 
rebel  kingdom  of  Palmyra,  and  all  his  military  rivals,  re- 
established the  subordination  of  the  empire,  and  repelled  its 
foreign  foes ;  but  at  the  end  of  five  years  of  extraordinary 
activity  he  also  fell  by  assassination,  275.  The  senate 
elected  M.  C.  Tacitus,  a  good  man  and  able  prince,  but  of 
advanced  age,  who  sank  beneath  the  toils  of  office  in  about 
seven  months.  Florian,  and  Probus  were  set  up,  the  former 
by  the  Senate,  the  latter  by  the  army  in  Syria.  Florian 
was  early  put  to.  death  by  his  soldiers  ;  Probus,  reaping  the 
fruits  of  Aurelian's  victories,  carried  his  arms  successfully 
against  invasion  from  the  north.  But  he  also  fell  by  the 
hand  of  violence.  Carus  was  immediately,  in  282,  set  up 
by  the  soldiers.  He  reign,  though  eminently  successful, 
ended   in  about  a  year.     His  successor  Numerianus  was 


65 

murdered   in  a  few  months.     And  in  284,  Diocletian  was 
proclaimed  by  the  army. 

The  accession  of  Diocletian  constitutes  an  era  in  the 
history  of  both  church  and  state.  In  the  former  it  long 
continued  to  be  used  as  such,  under  the  name  of  Diocle- 
tian, or  of  the  martyrs.  That  illustrious  ruler  devised  a 
plan  to  regulate  and  control  the  imperial  succession,  and 
to  secure  efficient  government  in  every  part  of  the  empire. 

1.  First,  in  286,  he  chose  Maximian  one  of  his  generals 
as  a  colleague,  and  assigned  to  him  the  government  of  the 
west,  the  seat  of  which  was  at  Rome.  They  were  to  be 
equal  in  power,  both  to  have  the  title  Augustus,  and  to  co- 
operate in  all  affairs  of  the  whole  empire. 

2.  Soon  afterwards,  they  both  chose  assistants,  who 
were  to  be  emperors  of  a  second  rank  under  the  name  of 
Cresar.  Diocletian  chose  Maximin  Galerius,  to  whom  was 
assigned  Thrace  and  Illyricum  ;  all  the  rest  of  the  East  be- 
ing under  his  own  immediate  rule.  Maximian  chose  Con- 
stantius  Chlorus,  and  gave  him  authority  over  Spain,  Gaul 
andBritain,  retaining  the  other  parts  of  the  West  for  himself 

3.  The  Csesars  were  to  be  as  it  were  lieutenants  of  the 
Augusti,  and  when  an  Augustus  died  or  resigned,  his 
Caesar  was  to  take  his  place,  and  select  another  Caesar. 
Thus  it  was  hoped  the  empire  would  always  have  rulers 
present  in  all  its  four  great  quarters,  always  have  men,  in 
its  two  highest  places,  in  the  ripeness  of  experience,  wise 
heads  to  guide  or  at  least  to  counsel  with  the  younger  em- 
perors while  acquiring  their  experience,  and  there  would 
be  a  regular,  lawful  and  reliable  order  of  succession. 

4.  It  seems  to  have  been  a  part  of  the  plan  that,  unless 
death  should  work  the  change  sooner,  the  Augusti  after  the 
lapse  of  a  certain  time,  or  the  attainment  of  a  certain  age, 
should  abdicate  and  leave  the  supreme  authority  to  their 
Caesars. 

It  was  a  beautiful  scheme,  but  presumed  upon  disin- 
terested virtue  in  ambitious  men, — a  fatal  presumption  ;  and 
yet  it  secured  twenty  years  of  orderly  government,  and  per- 
haps suggested  to  him  who  overthrew  it  the  conception  of 
one  which  proved  more  durable. 

It  was  no  whim,  nor  mere  weakness  which  at  the  end 
of  twenty-one  years,  led  Dioletian,  in  305,  to  abdicate  and 


56 

go  into  retirement.  His  colleague  Augustus,  Maximian, 
also  retired.  Their  Caesars,  accordingly  became  Augusti, 
and  new  Caesars  were  appointed. 

Galerius  was  now  Augustus  of  the  East,  and  Con- 
stantius  of  the  West,  while  the  Caesar  of  the  East  was  Max- 
imin  Daza,  and  of  the  West,  Severus. 

Constantius  died  at  York  in  306.  Thereupon  the 
soldiers  arrogated  to  themselves  the  power  so  long  kept 
out  of  their  hands.  The  army  of  Britain  insisted  upon  mak- 
ing Constantine,  the  son  of  Constantius,  Augustus.  And 
the  young  prince  accepted  their  nomination  without  regard 
to  Diocletian's  scheme.  Other  pretenders  arose  elsewhere. 
Galerius  maintained  the  scheme  in  the  East,  and  Maximian 
returned  to  defend  it  in  the  West.  But  the  case  was  de- 
cided by  the  sword.  Severus  was  defeated  and  slain,  and 
Constantine  marched  in  victory  from  Britain  to  Rome.  In 
the  neighborhood  of  the  city  he  fought  the  decisive  battle 
of  Saxa  Rubra,  between  Rome  and  Veii,  Oct.  27,  312.  It 
was  in  that  campaign  that  he  saw,  as  he  thought,  the 
luminous  cross  in  the  heavens. 

Galerius  died  in  311,  and  Maximin  Daza  succeeded 
to  the  place  of  Augustus  of  the  east,  with  Licinius  as 
Csesar,  but  honored  with  the  title  of  Augustus,  Constantine 
being  sole  emperor  of  the  west. 

From  the  time  of  Gallienus,  Christians  had  not  suffered 
persecution  from  imperial  order,  until  the  nineteenth  year 
of  the  reign  of  Diocletian,  when  persuaded,  it  is  said,  by 
the  urgency  of  his  Caesar,  the  senior  Augustus  gave  his 
sanction  to  a  new  attempt  to  suppress  their  worship.  He 
soon  after  abdicated,  but  the  persecution  was  continued  by 
his  successor,  who  as  Caesar  had  instigated  it.  Just  before 
his  death  in  311,  Galerius  revoked  the  edict.  After  his 
death  it  was  again  put  in  force ;  but  could  now  take  effect 
only  in  the  east.  In  the  west,  from  its  beginning  under 
Maximian,  it  was  light  and  lasted  not  quite  two  years. 

Almost  before  Constantine  had  secured  himself  in 
command  of  the  west  he  issued,  in  conjunction  with 
Licinius,  whose  jurisdiction  covered  the  European  east,  an 
edict  proclaiming  toleration  to  all  religions  within  their 
dominions,  soon  followed  by  another,  issued  from  Milan 
313,  especially  in  favor  of  christians. 


57 

During  the  absence  of  Constantine  in  war  with  the 
Franks,  Maximin,  Augustus  of  the  east,  from  hatred  to 
Christianity,  made  war  upon  Licinius.  The  issue  of  that 
conflict  was  his  own  defeat,  followed  by  his  death  in  the 
same  year,  313. 

Licinius  now,  as  master  of  all  the  eastern  empire, 
assumed  the  attitude  of  competitor  with  Constantine  for 
dominion  of  the  whole.  He  was  worsted  in  the  war  waged 
in  that  cause,  in  314,  and  constrained  to  cede  the  European 
east  to  Constantine. 

Eight  years  later,  war  broke  out  once  between  the 
two  emperors.  Licinius  put  himself  at  the  head  of  the 
heathen  interest.  The  conflict  proved  to  be  a  trial  of 
military  strength  between  the  Heathen  and  Christian 
parties  in  the  empire.  The  two  armies  met  near  Adri- 
anople,  July  3,  323.  Constantine  displayed  the  banner 
of  the  cross,  Licinius  raised  the  old  idolatrous  stand- 
ards of  Rome.  The  issue  of  that  hard  fought  battle,  one 
of  the  most  momentous  in  the  world's  history,  was  the 
overthrow  of  Licinius,  and  of  the  cause  which  he  had 
adopted.  Another,  not  a  feeble  but  disastrous  attempt, 
completed  his  ruin,  soon  followed  by  his  death.  To 
Heathenism  the  defeat  was  final.  The  empire  in  324  came 
under  the  rule  of  the  Christian  leader,  and  letters  circular 
were  issued  exhorting  all  people  to  accept  the  gospel.  The 
next  step  was  to  recognize  the  churches  as  in  their  organ- 
ization holding  relations  to  the  new  constitution  of  the 
civil  government. 

Ecclesiastical  tradition,  reckoning  from  the  first  under 
Nero,  counts  ten  heathen  persecutions,  namely  under  Nero, 
Domitian,  Trajan,  Marcus  Aurelius,  Septimius  Severus, 
Maximin,  Decius,  Valerian,  Aurelian  and  Diocletian.  But 
that  number  is  arbitrary.  With  equal  justice  they  may  be 
said  to  be  tnore  or  fewer,  according  as  attention  is  confined 
to  general  persecutions,  or  extended  to  comprehend  the 
local ;  to  those  which  were  ordered  by  an  emperor,  or  in- 
cluding those  which  he  failed  to  repress.  Imperial  general 
persecutions  were  few;  local  persecutions  were  of  frequent 
occurrence  in  one  quarter  or  another. 

Episcopal  equality,  defended  by  Cyprian  in  the  middle 
of  the  third  century,  was  suffering  infringement  even  then  ; 


58 

in  the  succeeding  generation  a  new  and  higher  rank  among 
bishops,  boldly  claimed  and  received  general  recognition. 
Under  the  method  of  church  extension  then  pursued,  it 
was  not  easy  to  withhold  an  unequal  weight  of  influence 
from  the  bishops  of  the  large  cities.  At  first  the  most  im- 
portant cities  were  Jerusalem,  Antioch,  Ephesus,  Corinth, 
and  Rome.  In  course  of  time  Jerusalem  was  overthrown, 
Corinth  and  Ephesus  became  relatively  of  less  importance, 
while  Alexandria  and  Carthage  rose  each  to  a  proper  dis- 
tinction of  its  own.  During  the  third  century  the  largest 
churches  and  most  influential  theologically  were  those  of 
Antioch,  Alexandria,  Rome  and  Carthage.  Several  causes 
co-operated  to  confer  a  predominant  influence  upon  the 
churches  in  those  chief  cities  ;  the  number  of  their  con- 
gregations, the  extent  of  their  suburban  missions,  the 
talent  developed  by  the  great  demands  upon  their  bishops, 
and  their  place  in  relation  to  the  imperial  government,  and 
commerce  of  the  empire. 

From  the  municipal  principle  of  one  church  for  one 
city  and  only  one  bishop  for  one  church  proceeded  several 
effects  at  variance  with  ministerial  parity.  First,  one  bishop 
as  the  presiding  officer  over  several  pastors  of  city  con- 
gregations, who  could  be  only  presbyters  sent  by  him. 
Secondly,  a  mission  from  a  great  city  church  to  a  neighbor- 
ing town  was  at  first  a  mere  branch  of  the  city  church  ;  but 
when  it  increased  to  more  than  one  congregation,  its  pastor 
became  to  its  congregations  what  the  bishop  of  the  city 
was  to  the  city  congregations ;  but  that  he  should  be  still 
esteemed  a  dependant  and  inferior  of  the  latter  could  not 
be  avoided  ;  and  recognized  as  bishop,  he  was  a  bishop  of 
humbler  rank.  Thirdly,  there  was  strength  and  support 
expected  by  the  churches  in  the  smaller  towns  from  such 
connection  with  the  larger :  and  in  course  of  time  many 
small  country  churches  and  bishops,  at  first  independent, 
applied  for,  and  were  accepted  into  such  filial  relations  to 
some  great  city  church. 

Thus,  before  the  end  of  the  third  century,  the  jurisdic- 
tion of  some  of  the  great  city  bishops  extended  very  far. 
That  of  Rome  included  not  only  her  proper  missions,  but 
the  greater  part  of  central,  and  all  the  south  of  Italy,  and 
perhaps  the  adjoining  islands  Sicily,  Sardinia,  and  Corsica. 


.      59 

Carthage  had  also  become  head  of  the  churches  in  North 
Africa;  Alexandria  of  most  of  those  in  Egypt,  and  Antioch, 
now  the  oldest  of  the  large  churches,  held  a  similar  position 
in  Syria  and  the  further  east.  A  number  of  other  cities  not 
so  important  as  these,  were  yet  large  enough  to  work 
similar  effects  in  the  history  of  the  church. 

Consequently,  a  new  class  was  established  among  min- 
isters, in  those  bishops  over  bishops  in  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  metropolitan  cities.  Still  it  was  a  system  not  formally 
and  legally  established  during  the  third  century.  The 
superior  bishops  were  styled  simply  bishops  of  the  first  seat, 
Primae  sedis  episcopi,  or,  Prinii,  or  Priinates.  Such  an  one 
was  considered  as  having  the  right  to  convoke  a  council  of 
the  bishops  of  his  province,  and  to  preside  in  it;  and,  in  the 
interval,  the  right  of  judicature  in  matters  affecting  any 
bishop  of  the  province. 

Obviously,  in  those  days,  provincial  councils  tended  to 
consolidate  the  metropolitan  system  in  all  its  parts. 

A  marked  distinction  was  now  made  between  the 
clergy  {clems)  and  the  laity,  [laid),  the  former  being  viewed 
as  a  sort  of  spiritual  aristocracy.  They  were  sometimes 
spoken  of  in  terms  of  the  Mosaic  economy,  as  Priests  and 
Levites.  Ministers  of  the  gospel  were,  at  the  great  centres 
of  population,  about  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century, 
losing  sight  of  their  simple  evangelical  vocation,  and  taking 
upon  them  the  features  of  a  sacerdotal  order.  A  profession 
of  sanctity  was  demanded  of  them  above  other  men  ;  and 
many  things  which  were  not  sinful  in  other  men  were  held 
to  be  sinful  in  them. 

Among  the  opponents  whom  Christianity  had  to  en- 
counter in  argument,  the  ablest  were  still  the  Neo-Platonist 
philosophers,  of  whom  by  far  the   most  learned  and  gifted  ^ 

were  Plotinus  and  Porphyry,  especially  the  former,  to  whom        '"^T>'' 
the  so-called  Neo-Platonist  philosophy  was  indebted  for  its    /\  M^ 
utmost  completeness.     His  own  work  was  done  chiefly  in         j 
the  former  period  ;  but  his  influence  against  Christianity  was 
stronger   after    his    death,  through    some    of    his    pupils. 
Plotinus  lectured  in  various  places,  from  Persia  to  Rome, 
and  wrote  many  books,  which  were  highly  esteemed,  and 
some  of  which  still  survive.      He  died  in  or  about  the  year 
270.     The  Neo-Platonic  sect  had  already  spread  over  most 


60 

of  the  civilized  world ;  and  its  style  of  thinking  as  molded 
by  Plotinus  was  that  which  opposed  itself  with  most  effect 
to  the  christian  apologist,  through  the  rest  of  the  period. 

Prophyry  of  Tyre,  a  pupil  of  Plotinus,  flourished  be- 
tween 260  and  305.  His  argument  against  Christianity  was 
a  large  work,  extending  to  fifteen  books.  It  is  no  longer 
extant  as  a  whole  ;  but  portions  of  it  remain  as  quoted  in 
the  writings  of  christians  who  encountered  its  attacks. 

Of  Hierocles,  an  eclectic  philosopher,  we  learn  chiefly 
from  the  notice  taken  of  his  book  against  Christianity  by 
Lactantius,  and  the  reply  to  it  by  Eusebius.  It  was  com- 
posed during  the  final  persecution,  and  called  "  Words  of  a 
truth-lover  to  the  christians."  Hierocles  not  only  wrote 
against  Christianity,  but  also  bears  the  blame  of  having  in- 
stigated that  persecution  which  has  branded  the  name  of 
Diocletian.  He  was  governor  of  Bithynia  under  that  em- 
peror. 

lamblichus  of  Chalcis,  in  Coelo  Syria,  wrote  a  work 
on  the  life  and  philosophy  of  Pythagoras,  in  which  he  in- 
troduced arguments  designed  to  resist  the  progress  of 
Christianity.  lamblichus  enjoyed  the  highest  philosophical 
reputation  in  his  time,  which  was  the  first  thirty  years  of 
the  fourth  century. 

In  the  field  of  theological  discussion  the  Alexandrian 
school  still  exerted  the  widest  influence.  Theological 
writers  were  divided  for  and  against  the  doctrines  of  Ori- 
gen,  and  later  in  the  period,  with  more  intensity,  respecting 
those  of_  Arius.  Latin  writers  were  inferior,  as  compared 
with  the"  (jrreekj  in  analytical  power,  and  subtlety  of  dis- 
crimination. Their  theology  was  more  practical,  but  ruder 
in  its  structure.  Lack  of  speculation  gave  greater  stability 
to  their  doctrines  and  style,  and  their  thoughts  turned 
more  upon  points  of  discipline  and  government.  It  was 
from  Greece  that  Roman  philosophy  was  derived,  and  from 
Greeks  came  also  the  first  part  of  systematic  theology. 
The  principal  theological  question  of  the  time  still  related 
to  the  Person  of  Christ ;  but  now  chiefly  as  a  person  in 
the  Godhead,  thereby  involving  discussion  of  the  whole 
subject  of  the  divine  Trinity ;  and  that  now  more  closely 
determined  by  the  bearings  of  the  Alexandrian  theology. 


61 

The  principal  christian  authors  in  Latin  were  Com- 
modianus  and  Arnobius,  both  of  North  Africa,  and  Lac- 
tantius  who  studied  with  Arnobius.  Commodianus,  the 
earliest  christian  poet  in  Latin,  was  author  of  a  poem  on 
the  evidences  of  Christianity,  written  about  270.  Arnobius, 
about  305,  published  an  apologetic  work  called  a  "  Dis- 
putation against  the  Gentiles."  The  writings  of  Lactantius 
are  of  much  more  importance,  and  in  more  elegant  Latin 
than  any  of  his  predecessors  had  been  able  to  command. 
They  are  chiefly  controversial,  in  defence  of  christian  doc- 
trine, against  heathenism  and  heathen  philosophy.  Lac- 
tantius died  between  325  and  350. . 

Among  errorists  Paul  of  Samosato,  bishop  of  Antioch, 
was  charged  with  preaching  a  variety  of  monarchianism, 
similar  to  that  of  Sabellius,  and  with  conduct  otherwise 
unbecoming  a  minister  of  the  gospel.  In  a  council  at  An- 
tioch 268  he  was  tried  and  deposed,  but  protected  by  Zeno- 
bia.  Queen  of  Palmyra,  he  continued  in  office.  When 
Aurelian  had  defeated  Zenobia  272,  he  constrained  Paul  to 
give  place  to  the  bishop  appointed  by  the  council. 

In  Egypt,  a  schism  took  place  during  the  Diocletian 
persecution.  Meletius,  bishop  of  Lycopolis  in  the  The- 
baid,  for  some  cause  which  is  not  satisfactorily  explained, 
broke  off  his  connection  with  the  bishop  of  Alexandria. 
Several  6ther  Egyptian  bishops  joined  him,  and  resisted  all 
attempts  to  bring  them  back  to  metropolitan  allegiance. 
It  was  one  of  several  cases  of  resistance  on  the  part  of 
parochial  bishops   to  aggressions  of  the  higher  prelates. 

In  the  Diocletian  persecution,  it  was  exacted  of 
christians  to  surrender  their  copies  of  the  Scriptures  to  be 
destroyed.  Those  who  submitted  were  counted  among  the 
lapsed,  as  Traditores. 

The  most  remarkable  heresy  of  the  last  half  of  the 
third  century  came  from  the  side  of  Persia,  and  consisted 
in  a  combination  of  some  elements  of  Christianity  with 
some  of  later  Avestanism  and  of  Buddhism.  Its  author 
was  Mani,  Manes,  or  Manichaeus,  a  Persian,  who  appeared 
as  a  religious  teacher  abouF^Tn: ~-~ 

I.  Mani  taught  the  doctrine  of  two  spiritual  kingdoms 
of  good  and  evil,  and  also  of  one  supreme  power  compre- 


62 

hending  both.     Good   was   identified  with  light,  evil  with 
darkness. 

2.  The  kingdom  of  light  was  internally  harmonious; 
that  of  darkness  in  perpetual  disorder,  and  internal  war. 

3.  The  evil  spirits  assaulted  the  kingdom  of  light. 
The  One  Supreme  God  brought  man  into  existence  and 
bound  him  in  matter  that  he  might  resist  the  forces  of 
evil. 

4.  Man  was  originally  joined  to  the  five  pure  elements 
of  nature, — fire,  light,  air,  earth  and  water.  But  in  the 
war  with  the  demons  and  the  impure  elements,  he  was 
worsted,  and  held  in  fetters  of  matter. 

5.  The  Almighty  sent  the  living  spirit,  an  emanation 
from  himself,  who  raised  man  once  more  to  the  kingdom 
of  light. 

6.  Meanwhile  the  kingdom  of  evil  had  succeeded  in 
retaining  a  part  of  man's  light-essence  involved  in  matter, 
an  element  which  has  to  go  through  a  process  of  purifica- 
tion and  development  towards  liberation. 

7.  To  that  end,  the  spirits  of  light  still  bound  up  with 
matter  are  through  the  process  of  generation  into  human 
nature,  rendered  conscious  and  intelligent,  and  by  the 
means  of  religious  purification,  eliminated  from  matter  in 
man,  and  restored  to  the  realm  of  pure  spirit,  in  the  king- 
dom of  light. 

8.  This  process  is  now  going  on.  Meanwhile,  the 
liberated  souls  are  placed  in  the  sun  and  moon,  from  which 
they  exert  an  influence  to  draw  upwards  to  themselves  the 
spirits  still  connected  with  matter,  by  the  process  of  evolu- 
tion in  vegetable  and  animal  life. 

9.  Matter,  after  being  exsiccated  of  all  the  elements  of 
light  and  pure  life,  was  to  be  reduced  by  fire  to  an  inert 
mass.  And  souls  who  still  submitted  themselves  to  sin 
were  to  be  banished  forever  to  its  inhospitable  desolation. 

10.  Mani  was  regarded  by  his  followers  as  the  incar- 
nation of  the  Paraclete.  All  his  writings  were  in  their 
estimation,  holy  scripture.  Only  such  parts  of  the  New 
Testament  as  suited  their  views  were  accepted  by  him  and 
his  followers.  They  had  also  their  exoteric  and  esoteric 
instructions,  for  two  different  classes  of  their  people,  their 
Auditors  and  their  Saints,  or  Elect. 


63 

The  Elect  constituted  their  sacerdotal  class,  in  the 
highest  stage  of  purification.  The  Auditors  were  their 
common  members,  who  were  taught  that  their  imperfect 
righteousness  could  be  raised  to  completeness  by  obtain- 
ing an  interest  in  the  superabundant  righteousness  of  the 
Elect. 

From  the  Elect  were  chosen  the  presiding  officers  of 
the  Manichcean  church,  the  orders  of  which  were  first, 
Mani  (the  embodied  Paraclete),  after  his  death  represented 
by  a  sacerdotal  chief;  second,  twelve  magistri;  and  third, 
the  seventy-two  bishops  of  the  Manichaean  churches. 

After  their  founder's  death,  this  sect  found  many  ad- 
herents, especially  in  the  East,  and  in  North  Africa,  although 
they  suffered  much  persecution  from  both  Persian  and 
Roman  authorities.  Mani  was  himself  put  to  death  by 
order  of  King  Baharam  I.,  of  Persia,  some  time  between 
272  and  277. 

By  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century  a  large  amount 
of  property  had  come  into  the  hands  of  christians;  and  in 
some  places  their  church  edifices  were  of  great  elegance. 
No  pictures  or  religious  symbols  were  allowed  in  them, 
although  such  were  used  on  tombs,  and  on  household 
utensils.  In  the  catacombs  are  found  the  monogram  of 
the  name  of  Christ,  the  dove,  the  fish,  the  cross,  and  other 
christian  symbols.  And  in  christian  worship  and  observ- 
ances certain  symbolical  numbers  were  of  frequent  occur- 
rence. 


THIRD  PERIOD— 325   TO   1517  A.  D. 

With  the  accession  of  Constantine  to  the  undivided 
throne  begins  the  third  of  the  grand  periods  into  which 
the  history  of  the  christian  church  divides  itself  It  covers 
the  time  in  which  the  church,  first  united  with  the  Roman 
empire  as  the  state  religion,  in  course  of  progress,  took  to 
itself  the  features  of  Roman  government,  and  when  the 
western  empire  fell,  assumed  its  place  of  superiority  among 
the  nations ;  and  when  the  Gospel  was  bound  in  fetters  of 
human  law. 


64 

Within  that  long  period,  extending  to  the  early  part 
of  the  sixteenth  century,  various  changes  took  place,  mark- 
ing several  subordinate  steps  of  progress  or  decline. 

I-     325—395- 
First  Union  of  Church  and  State. 

First  of  those  sections  is  that  of  the  rapid  decline  of 
Heathenism,  in  the  end  of  which  its  principal  rights  were 
discontinued.  The  new  emperor  sought  to  establish  peace 
between  the  old  religion  and  the  new.  But  when  Christ- 
ianity became  the  state  religion  Heathenism  had  no  fortitude 
to  endure  the  withdrawal  of  government  support. 

With  Constantine's  victory  at  Adrianople,  the  last 
vestige  of  Diocletian's  plan  of  government  disappeared ; 
a  wiser,  and  a  more  effective  was  constructed  by  the  new 
emperor.  While  the  sovereign  was  to  be  one,  the  division 
of  territory  was  retained,  under  the  name  of  the  Prefectures 
of  Gaul,  of  Italy,  of  Illyricum,  and  of  the  East,  over  which 
were  appointed  officers  called  Prefects.  The  Prefectures 
were  divided  into  Dioceses,  which  were  governed  by  Vi- 
cars, and  the  Diogeses,  into  Provinces,  under  the  admm- 
istration  of  Rectors,  or  Presides;  and~each  Province  was 
divided  into  smaller  districts  with  a  distribution  of  civil 
officers.  A  similar  disposal  was  made  of  the  army,  under 
its  own  proper  commanders.  And  honor  and  titles  of 
honor  were  graduated  in  like  manner,  from  the  emperor 
down  to  the  humblest  who  had  any  claim  to  distinction. 
The  reins  of  these  ramified  authorities  were  to  be  gathered 
together  in  the  hands  of  a  monarch  whose  office  was  to  be 
hereditary. 

In  this  system  Christianity  took  its  place,  as  the 
religion  favored  of  the  state.  During  the  preceding  hun- 
dred years,  the  order  of  the  church  had  been  growing  into 
such  a  shape  that  no  act  of  violence  was  needed  to  effect  a 
general  conformity.  Yet  it  took  some  time  to  complete 
the  parallelism  of  ranks  ecclesiastical  to  the  civil,  and  as 
respects  the  distribution  of  the  higher  jurisdictions,  it  was 
never  precisely  fitted,  though  everywhere  approximate.  It 
was  not  until  the  general  council  at  Constantinople,  in  381, 
that  the  superiority  of  the  bishops  of  a  diocese  over  the 


65 

bishops  of  the  Provinces  within  the  Diocese,  and  of  the 
Diocesan  synods  over  the  Provincial  synods  was  legally 
established,  and  both  grades  of  council  were  regularly 
appointed i|phurch  courts,  and  met  at  the  call  of  their 
respective  superior  bishops. 

The  head  of  that  church  system  of  government  was 
the  emperor,  who  alone  convoked  general  councils,  and 
presided  in  them,  personally,  or  by  his  commissioner, 
and  gave  the  force  of  law  to  their  acts.  The  first  eccle- 
siastical council  called  by  an  emperor  was  the  synod  of 
Aries  in  314.  And  the  first  general  council  of  the  church 
met  at  Nice  in  Bithynia,  in  325,  at  the  command,  and 
under  the  presidency  of  Constantine. 

The  order  of  ranks,  in  the  ministry  recognized  under 
the  new  constitution  were  those  of  Exarchs,  otherwise, 
Archbishops,  ruling  each  a  Diocese  of  the'empire;  second, 
Metropolitans,  also  sometimes  called  Archbishops,  ruling 
each  over  a  province ;  thirdly.  Bishops  ruling  over  smaller 
sees  consisting  of  various  congregations,  ministered  to  by 
Presbyters;  fourth,  in  some  parts  of  the  empire  chorepis- 
copi,  /.  c,  country  bishops,  in  their  separate  village  con- 
gregations ;  and  fifthly,  within  a  congregation  its  Deacons 
and  other  Parochial  officers. 

Presbyters  and  the  lower  clergy,  according  to  this 
system  were~~no  longer  to  be  chosen  by  the  people  of  their 
respective  churches,  but  appointed  by  the  bishop.  The 
election  of  a  bishop  depended  mostly  on  the  other  bishops 
of  the  province.  Still  the  consent  of  the  people  was  re- 
quired ;  and  especially  in  the  West,  was  often  decisive,  if 
not  imperative. 

Constantine  died  in  337,  having  received  christian 
baptism  only  a  few  days  before.  He  was  baptized  between 
Easter  and  Pentecost,  and  died  on  the  latter.  His  sons 
Constantine,  Constantius,  and  Constans,  divided  the  empire 
among  them  ;  but  in  the  course  of  successive  civil  wars,  it 
came  in  350  into  the  hands  of  Constantius  alone.  In  361 
Julian,  a  nephew  of  Constantine  I.,  came  to  the  throne. 
An  admirer  of  heathen  literature  and  philosophy  Julian 
attempted  to  re-establish  polytheism,  and  the  old  heathen 
worship.  But  his  reign  was  too  brief  to  effect  his  designs. 
He  fell  in  battle  with  the  Persians  in  363.'     Jovian  who 


m 

succeeded  him  was  a  zealous  christian  ;  in  his  brief  reign 
of  seven  months,  he  repealed  all  the  laws  of  Julian  adverse 
to  Christianity.  After  his  death,  the  empire  was  again  di- 
vided into  Eastern  and  Western,  with  much  irregularity 
for  about  fifteen  years.  In  379,  Theodosius  became  em- 
peror of  the  East.  In  the  West  disorder  continued  thirteen 
years  longer,  until  392,  when  Theodosius  united  the  whole 
empire  under  his  own  hand,  and  held  it  until  his  death  in 
395.  By  his  legislation  all  kinds  of  idolatry  were  forbidden 
under  severe  punishments.  The  emperor  Constantius  had 
prohibited  sacrifice ;  but  his  law  could  not  be  carried  into 
effect  at  the  centres  of  concourse,  Rome  and  Alexandria. 
After  Theodosius  interdicted  the  payment  of  their  expenses 
from  the  public  treasur)'  sacrifices  were  no  longer  observed. 

It  is  in  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century  that  we 
first  come  in  sight  of  monasticism,  as  a  recognized  style  of 
religious  life  within  the  christian  church,  not  constituted 
by  the  church,  but  growing  out  of  an  increasing  disposition 
among  pious  people  to  esteem  an  ascetic  life  one  of  emi- 
nent sanctity.  Its  institutions  organized  by  other  means 
came  to  the  church  for  sanction,  and  generally  received  it; 
although  from  the  first  they  were  more  in  the  spirit  of 
Buddhism  than  of  Christianity.  Monasticism  is  an  essen- 
tial institution  of  Buddhism,  but  not  of  the  Gospel  of 
Christ.  At  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  century,  Buddhism 
was  in  its  prime,  and  pouring  its  influence  in  upon  the 
population  of  the  eastern  empire  in  various  ways. 

Asceticism  had  been  practiced,  to  some  extent,  as 
early  as  the  second  century;  but  then,  and  during  the  first 
half  of  the  third,  ascetics  had  lived  among  other  christians, 
without  external  distinction.  During  the  Decian  persecu- 
tion, some  christians  of  Egypt  fled  to  the  desert,  and  there 
gave  themselves  up  to  austerities.  They  were  called 
ifrr^/ucrac,  Eremites,  or  aoua-^oi,  monks.  Public  attention 
was  turned  to  the  subject  in  31 1,  by  the  appearance  of  the 
hermit  Antony  in  a  procession  in  Alexandria.  He  had 
begun  to  preach  his  doctrines  as  early  as  305,  and  found 
many  to  admire  and  imitate  him.  After  a  number  of  her- 
mits had  been  brought  together,  a  place  of  habitation  was 
founded  for  them  by  Pachomius,  where  they  could  dwell 
together,  on  the  island  Tabenna  in  the  Nile.     Soon  after- 


67 

wards  similar  societies  were  formed  in  the  deserts  of  Sketis 
and  of  Nitria  in  Egypt,  in  the  desert  near  Gaza,  and  else- 
where in  Palestine  and  Syria.  Thence  the  example  ex- 
tended to  Armenia  and  Asia  Minor,  chiefly  in  desert 
places;  but  ere  the  end  of  the  fourth  century,  sometimes 
also  in  the  neighborhood  of  cities.  Some  ascetics  lived 
solitary;  others  in  associations  according  to  common  rule. 
Such  an  association  was  called  xotuo^cov,  or  fidvopa  in 
Greek,  and  Clmtstruvi  in  Latin ;  a  member  of  it  was 
xotvu^izf^z,  or  -ouooizv^;,  and  the  president,  'Ajdi^d::,  or 
'Afrj^iuaudoizr^-.  Monachism,  as  a  system,  came  into  the 
church,  was  not  legitimately  born  of  it.  It  was  introduced 
by  individuals,  not  by  church  order.  But  to  christians  of 
the  fourth  century  the  practice  seemed  eminently  holy, 
and  monks  were  held  in  such  esteem,  that  ere  the  end  of 
the  century  some  clergy  of  the  highest  rank  belonged  to 
their  number. 

Questions  relating  to  church  order  and  doctrine  were 
chiefly  the  schism  of  the  Donatists  and  the  heresy  of  Arius. 

The  fanaticism  of  seeking  persecution  and  of  super- 
stitious observances  in  worsIfipTwasTeproved  and  resisted 
by  C?ecilian,  who  was  elected  bishop  of  Carthage  in  311, 
A  strong  party  opposed  him,  and  set  up  Majorinus,  and 
afterwards  Donatus  as  their  bishop.  The  controversy  con- 
tinued long.  In  313  the  case  was  submitted  to  the  emperor 
Constantine,  who  ordered  five  Gallic  bishops  with  the 
bishop  of  Rome  to  investigate  the  matter,  and  that  C?e- 
cilian  should  appear  before  them  with  ten  bishops  to 
present  the  charges  against  him  and  ten  to  defend  him. 
The  decision  was  unfavorable  to  the  Donatists,  who  ex- 
pressed their  dissatisfaction.  The  emperor  then  in  314, 
called  a  council  to  meet  at  Aries,  whose  decision  was  also 
adverse  to  them.  They  appealed  to  the  emperor  himself. 
He  heard  the  case  in  316,  and  also  gave  judgment  against 
them,  which  he  followed  up  with  laws  of  great  severity. 
Notwithstanding,  the  party  maintained  its  existence  in 
Africa  until  that  province  was  overrun  by  the  Vandals. 

The  Meletian  schism  also  continued  in  Egypt,  and 
several  persons  in  different  quarters  protested  against  the 
growing  prelatical  aristocracy.  Such  were  Aerius,  Jovinian, 


68 

and  Vigilantius.  But  the  great  body  of  the  church  was 
well  pleased  with  the  new  relations  to  the  state,  and  with 
the  hierarchical  order,  by  which  it  seemed  so  well  balanced 
with  the  civil  authorities. 

The  most  momentous  doctrinal  controversy  was  that 
concerning  Arius.  Qrigen  had  taught  that  the  Divine 
Logos  proceed^  frorn  the  will  of  God  the  Father  con- 
tinually and  from  all  eternity,  that  he  is  inferior  to  the 
Father  and  different  as  to  substance.  Dionysius  of  Alex- 
andria, a  pupil  of  Origen,  was  charged  with  teaching  that 
the  relation  between  Christ  and  God  was  that  of  eternal 
creation.  He  afterwards  in  fuller  explanation  removed  tlie 
ground  of  that  accusation.  But  Ariv[s,  a  pupil  of  the 
Syrian  school  under  Lucian,  and  a  Presbyter  in  Alex- 
andria, boldly  accepted  the  doctrine  of  creation,  but  not  as 
eternal ;  teaching  also  that  the  Divine  Logos  was  the  only 
created  of  the  Father,  that  all  other  things  were  created  by 
him,  that  he  is  perfect,  and  a.s  like  God  as  a  created  being 
can  be. 

This  view  was  condemned  by  Alexander,  bishop  of 
Alexandria,  in  318;  but  many  bishops  in  Syria  and  Asia 
Minor  declared  themselves  in  favor  of  it.  The  controversy 
soon  extended  to  the  whole  East.  Attempts  were  made 
by  the  emperor  to  bring  it  to  an  end,  through  means  of 
friendly  correspondence  with  leading  men,  but  without 
effect.  Finally  he  called  a  council  of  the  whole  church  to 
meet  at  Nice  in  Bithynia  in  325  for  the  purpose  of  settling 
the  dispute.  The  cause  of  the  bishop  of  Alexandria  was 
pled  by  Athanasius,  then  a  deacon  of  that  church,  and  by 
others.  Arius  was  defended  by  a  strong  party,  but  was 
condemned  as  guilty  of  heresy.  And  the  faith  of  the 
church  was  defined  to  be  that  the  Divine  Logos  is  uncreated. 
The  council  drew  up  a  brief  confession  of  the  faith  in  which 
the  majority  of  the  members  agreed,  and  undertook  to 
terminate  the  schism  of  Meletius,  and  the  difference  between 
the  practice  of  the  Eastern  and  Western  Churches  in  the 
observance  of  Easter,  by  giving  judgment  in  the  former  case 
against  Meletius  and  deciding  the  latter  in  favor  of  the  West# 

Touching  the  number  of  bishops  assembled  at  l^ice 
statements  differ.  It  is  commonly  given  as  318.  Most  of 
the  Arian  members  submitted  to  the   doctrinal  decisions, 


69 

though  with  reluctance,  on  some  points,  especially  on  the 
consubstantiality  of  the  Father  and  Son  in  Deity.  A 
minority  preferred  to  say  that  the  Son  was  of  nature  similar 
to  the  Father.  Instead  o(  d/jLooOaco;:  rw  Tcarpc  they  defended 
the  doctrine  o(  b/jtosoumo:;  to)  Tzazpc,  and  on  that  Semi-Arian 
ground  took  their  stand  in  opposition  to  the  council,  and 
obtained  many  adherents,  chiefly  in  the  East.  In  the  course 
of  ten  years  they  were  strong  enough  to  depose  Athana- 
sius  from  the  bishopric  of  Alexandria,  to  which  he  had  been 
elevated,  after  the  council.     He  found  refuge  in  the  West. 

On  this  question  a  council  was  called  in  347  to  meet 
at  Sardica  ;  but  it  divided  into  two  councils,  and  accom- 
plished nothing.  After  long  continued  controversy,  the 
emperor  Theodosius  called  a  general  council  to  meet  at 
Constantinople  in  381.  One  hundred  and  fifty  bishops 
assembled. '^"TTiere  tTie  Nicene  creed  was  revised ;  its 
doctrine  of  the  Trinity  confirmed,  and  articles  added  touch- 
ing heresies  which  had  arisen  since  it  was  framed.  In  this 
latter  form  the  creed  became  the  universally  recognized 
.symbol  of  orthodoxy.  Pure  Arianism  subsequently  de- 
clined within  the  empire,  but  maintained  itself  among  the 
Germanic  nations.  Semi-Arianism  prevailed  among  the 
Eastern  churches ;  while  the  Nicene  doctrines  were  ac- 
cepted in  the  West.  Antioch,  as  the  head  of  the  Syrian 
school,  became  deeply  leavened  with  Semi-Arianism,  Alex- 
andria continued  long  to  be  the  chief  school  of  orthodoxy. 
Theologians  took  their  stand  with  one  or  the  other. 

Theodosius  was  the  last  who  held  the  reins  of  the 
united  empire.  Upon  his  death  in  395,  it  was  divided 
between  his  two  sons,  Arcadius,  takin^g  the  "^kast,  ariO 
Honorius,  the  West.  In  the  same  year  the  Huns  upon  the 
North  broke  in  to  the  provinces  of  Pannonia  and  Moesia, 
the  Goths  took  up  arms  for  invasion  of  Thrace,  Macedonia 
and  Greece,  which  they  effected  next  year.  Ere  that  time 
the  church  government,  under  the  constitution  devised  by 
Constantine  had  become  solidified  into  an  organic  self-sus- 
taining structure  imbued  with  the  spirit  of  a  new  and  vigor- 
ous life,  to  which  the  civil  government  had  nothing  to  cor- 
respond. The  latter  began  to  break  apart  into  irreparable 
decay  ;  the  former  to  increase  towards  completeness  of  or- 
ganization. 


70 

II.     395—451- 
Doctrinal  Definition. 

Another  period  of  church  history,  which  ought  to  be 
studied  by  itself,  is  that  which  extends  from  the  death  of 
Theodosius  to  the  general  council  of  Chalcedon.  It  was 
within  this  period  that  the  doctrines  of  the  church,  defined 
by  the  ancient  classic  fathers,  were  digested  into  a  philoso- 
phic system.  It  was  also  that  during  which  the  Arian 
Goths,  Suevi  and  Vandals  made  themselves  masters  of  the 
sea  coast  countries  of  the  western  empire,  and  the  heathen 
Franks  and  Saxons  took  possession  of  Northern  Gaul  and 
South  Britain. 

Britain  was  abandoned  by  Roman  arms  in  418,  and 
Anglo-Saxons  commenced  their  settlements  there  in  449  or 
450.  Ere  that  date  the  Franks  had  established  for  them- 
selves an  independent  Government  in  Gaul.  Spain  from 
the  beginning  of  the  fifth  century  had  been  overrun  by 
Suevi  and  Vandals,  and  was  now  completely  given  up  by 
the  emperor  of  the  West.  In  429  the  Vandals,  invited  by 
Boniface  the  Roman  governor,  passed  over  to  Africa,  and 
conquered  the  whole  of  that  province  before  439,  They 
also  reduced  Sardinia,  Corsica,  Sicily  and  the  Balearic  Is- 
lands. The  Alemanni  and  Burgundians  had  taken  posses- 
sion of  Helvetia,  and  districts  adjoining,  and  the  Goths  of 
southern  France.  At  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century 
little  remained  to  the  Western  empire  beyond  the  confines 
of  Italy.  Pannonia,  Dalmatia,  and  Noricum  had  been  taken 
by  the  eastern  empire.  The  eastern  empire  itself  had,  in 
440,  divided  Armenia  Vv^ith  the  Persians;  in  441,  it  was 
ravaged  by  the  Huns  under  Attila  from  the  Danube  to 
Constantinople  ;  and  in  446  had  submitted  to  pay  a  yearly 
tribute  for  the  privilege  of  peace.  The  period  was  covered 
entirely  by  the  two  successive  reigns  of  Arcadius  (395  — 
408,)  and  Theodosius  II.,  {408 — 450),  emperors  of  the  East, 
parallel  with  those  of  Honorius  (395 — 423)  and  of  Valen- 
tinian    III.    (423 — 455),  emperors  of  the  West. 

Although  the  Western  empire  was,  by  the  middle  of 
the  fifth  century,  broken  to  pieces,  and  only  a  fragment  of 
it  remaining  under  the  old  dominion,  the  church  stood  firm, 
and  had  received  a  large  addition  to  her  subjects.     The  old 


71 

inhabitants  of  the  provinces  were  not  removed,  or  extin- 
guished; they  were  only  subdued  and  governed  by  German 
invaders  instead  of  by  Romans  ;  while  the  invaders,  for 
the  most  part,  professed  Christianity  and  acknowledged 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  church.  The  old  population  was 
mostly  orthodox;  the  Germanic  incomers  Arian.  Among 
the  Goths  that  doctrine  was  taught  by  Ulphilas  in  the 
fourth  century.  A  Gothic  bishop  was  present  at  the  coun- 
cil of  Nice.  The  Burgundians,  in  413,  came  into  the 
church  with  profession  of  orthodoxy  ;  but  about  450 
adopted  Arianism.  That  difference  of  faith,  in  such  re- 
lations of  life,  furnished  occasion  for  inflicting  hardship 
upon  the  feebler  party.  But  with  exception  of  the  Van- 
dals in  Africa,  those  Arian  masters  seldom  interfered  with 
the  religion  of  their  orthodox  subjects. 

The  British  isles,  by  the  withdrawal  of  Roman  arms, 
by  the  interposition  of  heathen  Franks  in  the  North  of 
Gaul,  and  also,  in  the  succeeding  period,  by  the  establish- 
ment of  heathen  Saxons  in  the  East  and  South  of  Britain, 
were  cut  off  from  the  influences  proceeding  from  Rome. 
Meanwhile  the  old  British  churches  maintained  their  ground 
on  the  west  of  the  island,  from  the  Clyde  southward. 

On  the  extreme  East,  christians  were  subjected  to  much 
oppression  under  rule  of  the  Persian  kings.  From  343  a 
persecution  was  commenced  in  that  quarter  which  lasted 
thirty-five  )'ears,  in  which  thousands  of  christian  people 
with  their  ministers  were  put  to  death.  Tt  was  relaxed 
about  398  ;  but  revived  in  418  and  continued  until  nearly 
the  date  of  the  council  of  Chalcedon. 

Subsequently  having  adopted  the  doctrines  of  Nes- 
torius,  Persian  christians,  finding  themselves  under  censure 
of  the  churches  in  the  West,  and  separating  from  them  and 
their  relations  to  the  Roman  empire,  received  protection 
from  Persia,  as  loyal  subjects.  It  was  not  however  until 
498  that  the  whole  Persian  church  declared,  by  formal 
action,  in  favor  of  Nestorianism. 

In  that  part  of  Armenia,  which  came  under  Persian 
rule,  attempts  were  persisted  in,  for  more  than  forty  years, 
to  establish  the  doctrines  of  the  Avesta  instead  of  the 
gospel.      In  485    that  effort  was  abandoned  as   hopeless. 


72 

In  the  same   century  Mesrop  formed  the  Armenian  alpha- 
bet and  translated  the  Bible  into  the  popular  tongue. 

Theodosius  II.,  emperor  of  the  East,  issued,  in  423,  an 
edict  in  which  he  expressed  his  belief  that  no  heathen  were 
to  be  found  within  his  dominions. 


Anthropological  Controversy. 

In  the  process  of  framing  such  an  expression  of  christ- 
ian belief  as  should  be  satisfactory  to  the  church,  it  was 
impossible  to  avoid  controversy.  It  was  by  controversy 
that  the  work  had  to  be  done.  The  Arian  and  Semi-Arian 
controversies  led  to  the  clearer  statement  of  orthodoxy  on  the 
subject  of  the  Trinity.  In  the  Nicene  Creed,  as  revised  and 
extended  at  Constantinople,  were  summed  up  the  best  results 
of  previous  theological  discussion.  That  was  the  work  chiefly 
of  Greek  theologians.  Latin  writers  make  comparatively  lit- 
tle figure  in  it.  Law,  civil  and  moral,  was  the  field  of  thought 
in  which  those  who  spoke  the  Latin  tongue  had  proved  them- 
selves superior  to  all  rivals  uninspired.  And  now  a  work 
remained  to  be  done  for  the  church  which  they  were  better 
than  any  others  qualified  to  do.  It  was  twofold  ;  first,  de- 
finition of  the  Scriptural  doctrine  of  man's  relations  to  God; 
and  second,  the  complete  systematic  and  practical  state- 
ment and  exposition  of  the  whole  body  of  truth  as  then 
defined  or  accepted.  And  that  also  was  effected  through 
controversy. 

"  When  Alaric  the  Goth  was  threatening  Rome  in  the 
year  410,  Pelagius,  a  native  of  Britain,  who  had  been  re- 
siding in  Rome,  was  among  the  refugees  to  Sicily."  He 
thence  proceeded  to  Africa  accompanied  by  his  friend 
Ccelestius  and  others.  From  Africa  he  soon  afterwards 
went  to  Palestine  leaving  Ccelestius  at  Carthage.  Ccelestius 
applying  to  be  ordained  Presbyter,  was  charged  with  errors 
tending  to  exalt  unscripturally  human  free  will.  He  was 
excluded  from  the  church  at  Carthage,  and  went  to 
Ephesus.  His  doctrines  were  understood  to  be  the  same 
as  those  taught  by  Pelagius.  Accordingly,  Pelagius  was 
himself  accused  before  the  bishop  of  Jerusalem,  within 
whose  jurisdiction  he  was  then  residing,  and  afterwards  in 


73 

415  before  the  synod  of  Diospolis,  as  Lydda  in  Palestine 
was  then  called,  but  without  being  condemned.  Other 
councils,  in  various  countries,  rejected  his  doctrine.  Zosimus 
bishop  of  Rome  first  approved,  and  afterwards  condemned 
it.  But  it  also  found  acceptance  and  defence,  especially 
in  the  East.  In  the  West  its  principal  advocate  was  Julian 
of  Eclanum  in  Italy. 

Those  theologians  held  that  man's  moral  nature  re- 
ceived no  injury  in  the  fall  of  Adam  ;  that  man  is  now  born, 
as  fully  as  Adam  was  made,  able  to  do  the  will  of  God ; 
that  all  sin  consists  in  the  intelligent  choice  of  evil  ;  and 
that  in  order  to  turn  from  sin  unto  righteousness  nothing  is 
needed  but  a  change  of  purpose  on  the  part  of  the  sinner. 
A  higher  degree  of  blessedness  and  greater  facility  in  at- 
taining it  are  accessible  through  christian  sacraments  and 
instruction.  As  the  law  was  formerly  given  to  facilitate 
the  attainment  of  goodness,  so  latterly,  the  gospel  and  ex- 
ample of  Christ,  and  particular  operations  of  grace.  The 
Divine  purpose  for  man's  salvation  is  founded  on  the  Divine 
foreknowledge  of  human  action  ;  and  makes  no  demand 
which  man  has  not  full  ability  to  comply  with. 

Among  the  opponents  of  Pelagius  were  Jerome  and 
Augustin.  The  latter  especially,  in  this  controversy, 
wrought  out  those  statements  of  the  doctrines  of  grace 
which  lie  at  the  foundation  of  orthodox  theology.  The 
views  of  Augustin  were  ecclesiastically  confirmed  by  the 
African  synods, and  the  Western  churches  generally.  Pelag- 
ianism  ■  under  the  name  of  Coelestius,  was  condemned  at 
the  general  council  of  Ephesus  in  43 1 ,  although  the  Augus- 
tinian  doctrines,  of  grace  and  predestination  were  not 
adopted  by  eastern  christians. 

Pelagianism  is  the  root  of  a  number  of  heresies  within 
the  field  of  Anthropology,  like  Monarchianism  in  that  of 
theology.  Under  the  head  of  theology  error  lies  on 
one  hand  to  Monarcjijanism,  on  the  other  to  Polytheism  ; 
under  that  of  Anthropology,  in  the  direction  oT  Pelagian- 
ism, or  fatalism.  Ancient  orthodoxy  lay  between  the  ex- 
tremes, although  not  orthodox  for  that  reason,  but  for  ac- 
cordance with  Scripture  and  christian  experience.  It  was 
expressed  in  the  creed  for  Theology,  and  by  Augustin  for 
Anthropology. 


74 

After  the  action  of  the  council,  complete  Pelagianism 
ceased  to  be  professed  to  any  great  extent,  while  an  inter- 
mediate ground  between  that  doctrine  and  Augustinianism, 
which  may  be  called  Semi-Pelagian,  was  taken  by  many  of 
the  churches  in  the  east.  It  was  also  accepted  in  some 
places  in  the  West,  as  introduced  by  John  Cassian,  a  pupil 
of  Chrysostom. 

Augustin  was  a  native  of  Africa,  born  in  354,  at  Tagaste 
in  Numidia,  studied  and  practiced  the  profession  of  rhetoric, 
was  not  converted  until  over  thirty-two  years  of  age,  be- 
came bishop  of  Hippo  in  395,  and  died  in  430.  His 
writings  are  numerous,  but  his  great  work,  stating  and 
defending  the  essential  doctrines  of  Christianity  and  its  place 
among  the  great  powers  of  the  world,  is  the  ''  Dc  Civitate 
Dcir 


Christological  Controversy. 

The  controversy  touching  the  sonship  of  Christ  in 
Godhead  was  followed  by  others  concerning  the  relation  of 
the  Divine  Logos  to  the  human  nature  of  Jesus. 

Sabellius,  and  others  believing  in  a  mere  modal  trinity, 
taught  that  the  divine  nature  assumed  in  Jesus  only  a  hu- 
man body.  Apollinaris,  bishop  of  Laodicea,  from  362  to 
about  392,  accepting  the  doctrine  of  a  personal  trinity  as 
declared  at  Nice,  and  holding  that  natural  man  consists  of 
three  constituents,  body,  spirit  and  soul,  taught  that  Jesus 
had  no  human  soul,  and  that  the  Divine  Logos  took  its 
place.  Some  theologians  were  the  more  disposed  to  coincide 
with  that  view,  that  they  believed  the  soul  of  man  to  be  a 
part  of  God.  On  the  other  hand,  it  fell  in  with  and  sus- 
tained a  practice  already  common  in  many  churches.  For, 
in  that  case,  if  it  was  proper  to  speak  of  an  ordinary  man's 
mother  as  the  mother  of  his  soul,  it  might  be  equally  proper 
to  speak  of  the  Virgin  Mary  as  the  mother  of  God,  dtozoxo^. 

Apollinarianism  was  rejected  by  the  general  council  at 
Constantinople  in  381.  The  controversy,  however,  had 
contributed  to  that  element  of  definition,  which  recognized 
the  complete  humanity  of  the  Saviour. 

Another  question,  which  folio ived  inevitably,  was  what 
should  be  believed  of  the  relations  between  the  complete  man 


75 

Jesus  and  the  divine  Logos.  Some  of  the  clergy  failed  to 
distinguish  between  "  the  two  natures  "  and  the  "person- 
ality," thereby  leading  to  a  theological  controversy,  and 
some  who  denied  the  propriety  of  the  term  "  Mother  of 
God  "  provoked  a  furious  popular  passion.  The  persecu- 
tion proceeding  from  both  fell  upon  Nestorius,  who 
was  made  bishop  of  Constantinople,  in  428.  Some  of  his 
clergy  agreeing  with  him  in  doctrine  preached  against  the 
practice  of  calling  Mary  "  Mother  of  God."  The  congre- 
gations were  disorderly  and  insulted  the  preachers.  Nes- 
torius defended  them,  but  was  himself  insulted  when  preach- 
ing on  the  same  subject.  Some  of  his  clergy  deserted  him, 
others  he  deposed.  The  question  soon  became  one  of  gen- 
eral concern. 

The  doctrine  defended  by  Nestorius  Vv^as  that  of  the 
separate  existence  of  the  divine  and  human  natures  in 
Christ.  And  according  to  his  view,  to  speak  of  Mary  as 
mother  of  the  divine  nature  was  blasphemy. 

Nestorianism  was  condemned  by  the  general  council 
at  Ephesus  in  431,  and  Nestorius  was  deposed.  The 
minority  was  so  strong,  and  both  parties  so  violent  that 
appeal  was  made  to  the  emperor.  In  the  end,  Nestorius 
was  banished  to  an  oasis  of  upper  Egypt,  about  435.  He 
died  in  exile.  But  a  large  part  of  the  eastern  church, 
chiefly  that  lying  to  the  east  of  the  Euphrates,  sustained  his 
doctrines.  In  498,  the}^  were  accepted  as  the  professed 
creed  of  the  churches  in  Persia  and  the  further  east,  which 
thereby  separated  for  ever  from  those  of  the  Roman  empire. 

In  the  controversy  with  Nestorius,  some  disputants, 
at  whose  head  was  Cyril  bishop  of  Alexandria,  defended 
the  opposite  doctrine  to  an  extreme.  The  successor  of 
Cyril  in  the  see  of  Alexandria,  Dioscorus,  from  444  until 
451,  was  still  more  violent  in  the  same  cause.  Eutyches, 
an  abbot  in  Constantinople,  was  in  448,  condenmecJby  a 
local  synod  in  that  city  for  teaching  that  the  human  in 
Christ  was  so  merged  in  the  divine  as  to  make  only  one 
nature.  A  letter  from  Leo  I.  of  Rome  to  Flavian  of  Con- 
stantinople approved  of  that  action  and  defined  what  he 
thought  the  true  doctrine  of  the  two  natures  in  Christ. 

The  censure  of  Eutyches  bore  hard  upon  Dioscorus 
also.     A  general  council  was  summoned  to  meet  at  Ephe- 


76 

SLis  next  year  (449).  Dioscorus,  as  president,  procured  a 
resolution  in  favor  of  Eutyches,  and  the  Alexandrian  doc- 
trine, and  an  act  of  deposition  against  Flavian.  From  its 
violence  that  council  was  branded  as  the  Robber  Synod; 
but  it  was  sustained  by  the  emperor,  Theodosius  II.  Next 
year  Theodosius  died.  The  new  emperor,  Marcian,  took 
the  other  side,  and  strongly  disapproved  of  the  conduct  and 
doctrines  of  Dioscorus,  A  new  general  council  was  called, 
and  met  at  Chalcedon  in  451.     It  is  counted  the  fourth. 

Dioscorus  was  deposed.  Eutyches  was  condemned. 
Nestorianism  was  also  rejected.  Leo's  letter  to  Flavian 
was  approved,  while  the  council  gave  their  own  statement 
of  the  doctrine  of  "  One  Christ  in  two  natures,  the  two 
natures  united,  without  confusion,  without  conversion, 
inseparably  and  perpetually." 

The  council  also  recognized  the  existing  Metropolitan 
and  Patriarchal  ranks  of  bishops,  and  sanctioned  the  latter 
as  a  higher  rank,  and  as  endowed  with  wider  powers  of 
jurisdiction.  At  that  date  the  Patriarchs  were  five  ;  those 
of  Rome,  Constantinople,  Alexandria,  Antioch  and  Jerusa- 
lem. Reference  is  also  made,  in  the  canons  of  the  coun- 
cil, to  the  Patriarchs  of  the  two  imperial  capitals  as  entitled 
to  higher  honor  than  the  rest.  The  great  church  of  Car- 
thage was  now  humbled  to  the  earth  by  the  conquest  of 
the  Vandals. 

Both  forms  of  the  creed,  namely,  those  of  Nice,  and 
of  Constantinople,  were  confirmed;  as  that  of  the  318 
■fathers  of  Nice,  and  of  the  150  fathers  of  Constantinople, 
variant  doctrines,  which  had  arisen  in  the  interval,  were 
condemned  by  the  re-statement  of  doctrines  professed,  or 
implied  in  those  symbols. 

That  council  also  confirmed  certain  canons  of  five 
provincial  councils,  namely  of  Ancyra  315,  of  Neo-Csesarea 
in  Pontus,  315  or  316,  of  Gangra,  between  325  and  341,  of 
Antioch  in  Syria,  341,  and  of  Laodicea,  somewhere  about 
365. 

RECAPITULATION    OF    CONTROVERSIES. 

The  Person  of  Christ  is  the  first  and  cardinal  point  of 
christian  doctrine.  The  principal  controversies  concerning 
it  are  : 


77 

1.  With  Judaism,  proving  that  Jesus  is  the  Christ, 
and  establishing  the  sufficiency  of  Christ  in  himself  as  the 
Saviour,  and  his  true  Godhead. 

2.  With  Docetae,  in  defence  of  his  true  humanity. 

3.  Of  his  divine  nature  as  related  to  God  the  Father, 
and  the  Holy  Spirit,  as  well  as  to  the  whole  system  of  the 
universe;  discussed  in  the  theories  of  Gnosticism  and  the 
debates  concerning  Montanus  ;  and  the  subsequent  system 
of  the  Manichees. 

4.  In  defence  of  the  personal  Trinity  in  conflict  with 
theories  of  Monarchianism — Humanitarian,  Patripassian, 
Sabellian. 

5.  With  those  which  sprang  out  of  the  theology  of 
Origen,  especially  that  of  Arius. 

6.  With  the  Semi-Arians. 

7.  Touching  the  relations  of  the  divine  to  the  human 
in  Christ,  against  the  Apollinarian  doctrine  on  one  side, 
and  the  Nestorian  on  the  other. 

8.  And  with  that  of  Eutyches  and  Dioscorus. 

9.  Questions  of  anthropological  doctrine  were  brought 
out  chiefly  as  related  to  the  prime  question  of  Christ,  but 
also  in  treating  points  of  discipline,  controversies  on  the 
subject  of  the  lapsed,  on  the  schisms  of  Novatian,  Felicis- 
simus,  Donatus,  until  the  rise  of  Pelagianism. 

10.  The  rejection  of  Pelagianism  left  behind  the  more 
widespread  and  enduring  heresy  of  Semi-pelagianism,  es- 
pecially in  the  east.  The  doctrines  of  grace,  as  stated  by 
Augustin,  were  accepted  in  the  churches  of  the  west. 

So  far,  christian  controversies  were  marked  by  fea- 
tures of  ancient  classical  thinking,  even  when  dealing  with 
oriental  speculation  ;  from  the  council  of  Nice  to  that  of 
Chalcedon  is  the  golden  age  of  Patristic  literature.  Those 
which  followed,  for  many  hundred  years,  were  in  the  spirit 
of  the  mediaeval. 

WORSHIP    AND    OBSERVANCES. 

Christian  sacraments  and  originally  simple  customs 
were  now  surrounded  with  a  parade  of  ceremonial  forms, 
pictures  were  introduced  into  the  churches,  not  as  objects 
of  worship,  but  as   helps  to  piety,  and  some  things  were 


retained  from  the  old  State  religion,  and  as  converted  to 
Christian  meaning,  under  the  plea  that  people  accustomed 
to  see  them,  would  thereby  be  attracted  to  church.  Preach- 
ing, in  the  fifth  century,  had  also  assimilated  in  some  res- 
pects to  the  character  of  secular  harangues,  and  in  some  of 
the  city  churches,  at  least,  it  was  not  unusual  for  the  con- 
gregations to  give  noisy  demonstrations  of  their  disap- 
proval or  applause.  The  memory  of  martyrs  had  come  to 
receive  such  a  degree  of  veneration  that  preachers  would 
appeal  to  them  in  their  sermons,  and  invoke  their  interces- 
sion with  God.  Their  relics  were  collected  and  deposited 
in  churches.  The  Virgin  Mary  received  peculiar  reverence ; 
and  the  cross,  all  along  honored  as  a  symbol,  had  now  be- 
come an  object  of  idolatrous  veneration.  That  feeling  was 
intensified  after  Helena,  the  mother  of  Constantine,^had  dis- 
covered, as  she  thought,  some  fragments  of  the  true  cross, 
on  which  the  Saviour  died.  In  the  fifth  century  the  cruci- 
fix, that  is,  the  cross  with  a  figure  representing  the  Saviour 
suspended  upon  it,  began  to  be  used. 

It  was  also  during  this  period  that  the  clergy  began 
to  wear  a  peculiar  costume,  while  engaged  in  divine  ser- 
vice ;  and  after  heathen  fashion  in  some  of  the  churches 
artificial  lights  were  used  in  the  day  time.  Burning  of 
incense  was  also  introduced. 

Singing  in  responses  was  first  practised  at  Antioch, 
spread  to  other  places  in  the  east,  and  was  transferred  to 
the  west  by  Ambrose. 

Festival  days  increased  in  number,  and  some  formerly 
of  only  local  observance,  became  general,  or  were  appointed 
to  be  held  with  more  regularity.  Not  long  before  360, 
probably  in  the  pontificate  of  Julius  I.  (337-352)  the  Roman 
church  began  to  observe  the  25th  of  December  as  com- 
memorative of  the  Lord's  nativity.  From  Rome  the 
practice  extended  to  different  provinces,  to  Antioch  in  376, 
and  to  Alexandria  about  430. 

Apocryphal  Literature. 

Heathen  literature  and  science  had  still  their  devotees. 
At  Athens  and  Alexandria  the  polytheistic  schools  of 
philosophy  were  still  in  existence. 


79 

By  the  middle  of  the  fifth  century  the  schools  of  the 
church  had  begun  to  decline,  with  the  interest  in  educa- 
tion which  maintained  them.  Monks  had  already  increased 
enormously,  and  their  extravagances  and  barbarism  had 
become  the  disgrace  of  the  christian  name.  The  emperor 
Valens  attempted  to  restrain  their  increase  by  authority, 
but  without  effect.  Some  of  them  were  men  of  learning, 
but  as  a  general  thing  they  were  ignorant,  despised  learn- 
ing, and  wielded  a  powerful  influence  against  it.  To  them, 
more  than  to  Goth  and  Vandal,  was  the  degeneracy  of  public 
intelligence  due.  The  stoppage  of  education  bears  its  fruit 
not  immediately,  but  needs  for  it  only  one  generation. 

As  early  as  the  second  century  tales  had  been  fabri- 
cated of  the  Saviour  and  of  his  apostles,  and  heathen 
prophecies  of  Him,  and  His  work,  either  fabricated  or 
interpolated,  as  in  the  case  of  the  apocryphal  books  of  the 
New  Testament,  and  the  Sibylline  oracles.  The  most 
remarkable  of  such  productions  were  the  books  called  the 
Clementines.  They  consisted  of  two  epistles  addressed  to 
the  apostle  James  at  Jerusalem,  and  twenty  homilies  pro- 
fessing to  be  the  doctrinal  and  polemical  discourses  of  the 
apostle  Peter.  Clement,  bishop  of  Rome,  appears  as  the 
author.  They  are  thought  to  have  been  composed  at  Rome 
about  the  end  of  the  second  century.  Of  these  homilies 
there  is  an  epitome  also  in  Greek.  There  are  other  writ- 
ings of  the  same  kind  ascribed  to  Clement,  especially  the 
Recognitions,  a  connected  narrative  in  ten  books,  which 
we  have  in  a  Latin  translation,  made  by  Rufinus  who  died 
in  410.  Among  the  manuscripts  found  in  the  desert  of 
Nitria,  which  are  now  in  the  British  Museum,  there  is  a 
Syrian  translation  of  the  Clementines,  which  is  said  to 
differ  greatly  from  both  the  Greek  and  Latin.  The  subject 
seems  to  have  been  a  theme  of  religious  romance  upon 
which  successive  writers  felt  free  to  compose  variations. 

To  the  same  period  with  the  translation  of  the  Recog- 
nitions are  the  Apostolic  Constitutions  probably  to  be 
referred.  That  collection  of  ecclesiastical  rules  is  put  forth 
as  the  work  of  the  apostles  collectively,  who  also  speak 
in  their  own  names  separately  of  what  they  were  taught  by 
the  Lord.  It  is  found  in  use  in  the  fifth  century,  and  no 
mention  of  it  occurs  earlier  than  the  end  of  the  fourth.    By 


80 

gross  anachronisms  much  of  it  is  convicted  of  forgery. 
The  Apostolic  canons,  a  smaller  collection  of  similar  kind, 
came  also  into  use  towards  the  end  of  the  fifth  century, 
and  is  obnoxious  to  the  same  charge. 

Many  of  the  evils  of  the  time  were  due  to  the  haste 
with  which  multitudes  of  half  converted  heathen  were 
received  into  christian  communion  upon  simple  profes- 
sion, made  in  many  cases  only  because  their  king  had 
been  converted.  After  the  full  establishment  of  Christ- 
ianity as  the  state  religion,  and  the  profession  of  heathen- 
ism was  made  unlawful,  it  came  to  be  the  practice  of  the 
church  to  comprehend  all  the  population  of  the  empire 
as  in  some  shape  or  other  its  proper  charge.  The  strict 
rules  of  the  early  christians  touching  admission  to  their 
communion  were  thus  done  away  or  rendered  inoperative. 
It  was  a  stupendous  effort,  for  which  the  early  church  was 
called  upon, — the  regeneration  of  a  world  lying  in  iniquity, 
such  deep  and  almost  hopeless  iniquity.  It  is  not  strange 
that  the  human  agency  was  sometimes  at  fault,  that  mis- 
takes were  made,  and  that  some  of  the  overflowing  corrup- 
tion invaded  her  own  bounds.  The  subject  of  wonder  is 
that  the  good  was  not  entirely  swamped  in  the  billows  of 
evil  raging  on  every  side.  Among  the  christian  writings 
of  that  time  copious  evidence  is  found  of  warm  scriptural 
piety,  and  most  of  the  acts  of  councils  testify  to  the  same 
purport,  as  well  as  the  lives  of  many  devoted  men  and 
women. 

III.     451 — 607. 

Christianity  in  Pride  of  Dominion. 

Another  section  of  Church  History  is  very  distinctly 
marked  by  important  changes  between  the  council  of  Chal- 
cedon  and  the  death  of  Boniface  III.  bishop  of  Rome,  that 
is  from  45 1  to  607.  It  is  the  period  of  rivalry  for  dominjon 
in  the  church  between  the  Patriarchs  of  Constantinople 
and  of  Rome.  At  the  council  of  Chalcedon  they  had  been 
recognized  as  entitled  to  higher  honor  than  the  rest.  From_ 
that  date  it  became  an  object  of  ambition  with  both  to  se- 
cure each  for  his  own  see  the  honor  of  sole  superiority. 


81 

The  Roman  Patriarch  had  the  advantage  in  that  his  capital 
was  possessed  of  the  older  prestige  and  associations.  On 
the  other  hand,  during  most  of  the  period  Constantinople 
was  the  sole  capital  of  all  the  dominion  that  remained  to 
the  empire.  But  the  east  was  divided  among  four  Patriarchs ; 
in  the  west  there  was  only  one.  The  Roman  Patriarch  had 
no  Patriarchs  in  the  west  to  look  to  him  as  superior.  The 
Patriarch  at  Constantinople  was  recognized  as  higher  in 
honor  than  the  three  other  Patriarchs  of  the  east ;  it  was 
not  unnatural  that  he  should  wish  to  add  the  Patriarch  at 
Rome  to  the  list.  One  sovereign,  or  universal  bishop,  with 
four  Patriarchates  was  needed  to  complete  the  system  of 
church  government  after  the  model  of  the  state.  The 
eastern  domain  of  Christianity  was  by  far  the  most  exten- 
sive, and  populous.  But  the  Roman  Patriarch  had  already 
learned  to  add  some  of  the  duties  of  a  civil  ruler  to  his 
ecclesiastical  functions.  Rome  was  still  the  imperial  city 
in  the  eyes  of  western  nations,  and  the  claim  of  apostolic 
descent  had  more  weight  in  that  quarter  than  in  the  east, 
where  all  the  principal  churches  held  to  it.  Notwithstand- 
ing the  difficulties  in  his  way  it  was  the  Patriarch  at  Con- 
stantinople who  succeeded  in  having  his  rank  of  universal 
bishop  first  recognized  by  imperial  authority.  Rome  then 
condemned  the  iniquity  of  episcopal  ambition. 

The  cruelty  of  the  usurping  emperor  Phocas  alien- 
ated from  him  all  good  men  in  Constantinople.  He  re- 
ceived approval  from  Gregory  I.,  bishop  of  Rome,  and 
from  Boniface  who  was  afterwards  raised  to  that  dignity. 
Boniface  IIL^eg^ie  Pope  in,607,  ^"<^  '^ied  before  the  end 
of  the  'year.  He  had  solicited  and  obtained  from  Phocas 
the  transfer  of  the  title  universal  to  the  see  of  Rome. 
Eastern  prelates  did  not  admit  the  validity  of  that  act  of  a 
usurper.  The  next  emperor  restored  to  the  Patriarch  the 
Title  which  the  Popes  never  resigned,  and  thus  the  aliena- 
tion between  the  two  great  ecclesiastics  became  wider  than 
before. 

In  the  state,  the  period  thus  defined  was  no  less 
momentous.  After  their  defeat  at  Chalons  in  451,  the 
Huns  fell  back  upon  Italy,  and  the  last  remnant  of  the 
western  empire  was  spared  for  a  few  years  only  by  the 
death  of  Attila.      In  455,  the  Vandals  crossed  over  from 


82 

Africa  to  Italy,  took  Rome  and  plundered  it.  Until  472 
the  holders  of  nominal  empire  in  the  west  were  set  up 
by  German  leaders.  Finally  in  476,  Odoacer,  king  of  the 
Herulians,  and  leader  of  the  German  troops  in  Roman  pay, 
assumed  the  sovereignty  himself  under  the  title  King  of 
Italy.  In  492,  Odoacer  was  overthrown,  and  the  Gothic 
kingdom  of  Italy  set  up  by  Theodoric.  That  kingdom 
was  extinguished  by  the  forces  of  the  eastern  empire  under 
Belisarius  in  5  39,  and  afterwards  under  Narses.  Italy  thereby 
became  a  Byzantine  province,  until  the  invasion  of  the 
Lombards  in  568  ;  when  it  was  divided  between  them  and 
the  eastern  empire;  the  capital  of  the  former  being  Pavia, 
and  the  seat  of  the  Greek  exarch,  Ravenna.  Rome  had 
ceased  to  be  of  any  general  political  importance. 

In  Gaul  the  Franks  secured  supreme  dominion.  The 
Visigoths,  whom  they  drove  out  of  the  South  of  that 
country  in  507,  had  already  overmastered  the  Suevi,  and 
set  up  the  Gothic  kingdom  of  Spain.  The  Saxons  in 
Britain  had  established  their  dominion  over  all  the  best  of 
England,  and  driven  the  Romanized  Britons  to  the  north 
and  west. 

On  the  other  hand  the  Vandals  in  Africa  and  Sicily 

were  reduced  by  the  arms  of  Belisarius  and  those  countries 

annexed  to  the  eastern  empire. 

.-"'^   In    Constantinople,   the  imperial   authority   after  457 

(   passed  through  a  succession  of  feeble  hands,  until  Justin- 

'  ian,   who,   from   527   to    565,  by  the  wisdom   of  his  legal 

/  digests,  and  the  success  of  "his  arms,  went  far   towards  a 

restoration  of  the  imperial  dignity.     His  successors   until 

602  were  good  men,  but  did  not  maintain  the  same  course 

\  of  prosperity.     Mauritius,  in  602,  was  murdered  with   his 

family,  by  the  centurion   Phocas,  who  in  a  mutiny  of  the 

soldiers  had  usurped  the  throne. 

Legal  digests  for  the  church  followed  the  example  of 
the  civil  law.  From  Apostolic  times,  the  church  needed, 
and  possessed  certain  rules  whereby  those  who  joined  her 
communion  were  to  regulate  their  conduct.  The  wisdom 
of  the  early  fathers  increased  the  number.  To  these  were 
added  the  decisions  of  councils.  Of  such  collections  were 
subsequently  made.  In  the  fifth  century  we  find  mention 
of  the  Apostolical  Constitutions  and  the  Apostolical  canons. 


83 

In  the  sixth  century  appeared  the  collection  of  Dionysius 
Exiguus,  in  the  west,  and  of  Johannes  Scholasticus,  in  the 
east.  An  enlarged  edition  of  Dionysius  published  under 
the  name  of  Isidore  of  Seville,  in  the  seventh  century,  and 
still  further  enlarged  by  fictitious  additions,  in  the  ninth, 
laid  the  foundations  upon  which  afterwards  arose  the 
structure  of  the  canon  law. 

MoNOPHYSiTE  Controversy. 

The  council  of  Chalcedon,  after  deposing  Dioscorus 
from  the  Patriarchate  of  Alexandria,  appointed  Proterius 
in  his  room.  But  a  large  party  in  Egypt  refused  to 
acknowledge  the  new  bishop,  or  the  doctrine  of  the  coun- 
cil. They  denied  the  existence  of  two  natures  in  Christ, 
or  rather,  held  that  the  two  natures,  human  and  divine,  are 
so  united  as  to  constitute  but  one  nature,  yet  without  con- 
version of  one  into  the  'other  and  without  confusion  of 
both.  Various  names  were  given  them,  but  the  most  com- 
mon was  that  expressive  of  their  doctrine  of  oneness  of 
nature  in  the  Saviour,  MonoipuaXzac,  while  they  called  their 
opponents  J'jo(foa'iTac,  or  JcipualTac.  The  headquarters  of 
the  controversy  were  Antioch  and  Alexandria,  the  two 
great  theological  schools  of  the  east.  Both  parties  carried 
violence  to  an  extreme,  disgraceful  to  their  christian  pro- 
fession. Emperors  several  times  stepped  in  to  allay  the 
ferment,  but  with  little  success.  Zeno  Isauricus,  in  432, 
issued  a  creed  called  the  Henoticon,  which  he  thought 
both  parties  might  agree  upon.  Instead  of  etiecting  union, 
it  raised  a  new  subject  of  dispute.  The  bishop  of  Rome, 
and  the  western  churches  in  general  took  part  in  opposition 
to  the  Monophysites.  Justinian  defended  the  council  of 
Chalcedon,  but  endeavored  to  restore  unity  and  peace. 
I'he  empress,  Theodora,  favored  the  Monophysites,  and 
also  professed  to  labor  for  conciliation.  Neither  of  them 
had  much  success.  After  several  fruitless  attempts,  the 
emperor  called  a  general  council  to  meet  at  Constantinople 
at  553.  The  council  condemned  Monophysite  doctrine  as 
heresy.  In  that  action  Pelagius  I.  of  Rome  coincided, 
but  thereby  created  a  temporary  schism  in  the  west.  In 
the  east  the  result  was  a  final  secession  of  a  great  number 


84 

of  churches  covering  a  belt  of  country  from  the  northern 
borders  of  Armenia,  through  Mesopotamia,  Syria,  Pal- 
estine and  Egypt,  to  the  southern  extremities  of  Ethiopia.  ' 
It  did  much  to  reduce  the  importance  of  both  Alexandria 
and  Antioch,  as  schools  of  theology,  a  loss  which  they 
never  retrieved. 

The  disgraceful  scenes,  which  occurred  in  the  course 
of  this  controversy,  were  chiefly  due  to  the  part  taken  in  it 
by  monks,  who  now  swarmed  in  all  oriental  Christendom 
in  such  numbers  as  seriously  to  diminish  the  ranks  of  in- 
dustry. If  merely  to  be  in  earnest  were  true  godliness,  the 
highest  merit  could  not  be  denied  to  most  of  them  ;  but  so 
to  judge  would  be  to  transform  Christianity  into  fanaticism. 
Some  of  their  extravagancies  would  be  incredible,  were 
they  not  testified  to  by  eye  witnesses.  Such  were  the 
stylite  saints,  one  of  whom  called  Simeon  died  in  459,  after 
having  lived  37  years  on  the  top  of  a  pillar.  In  the  west 
such  wild  extremes  of  asceticisjn  never  met  with  much 
favor.  For  that,  much  was  due  to  Benedict  of  Nursia, 
who  in  the  year  529  founded  a  monastery  on  Mount  Casinus 
in  Italy,  with  a  greatly  improved  system  of  rules,  which 
distributed  the  time  of  the  monks,  in  a  strict  and  sensible 
way,  between  devotion,  study  and  manual  labor :  and  for 
several  generations  its  working  was  enforced  with  a  careful 
severity.  The  rule  of  Benedict  was  the  true  foundation  of 
western  monasticism,  as  distinguished  from  the  oriental. 

And  yet  we  must  not  include  all  the  ascetics  of  the 
east  under  one  indiscriminate  censure.  Among  them  are 
to  be  found  cases,  like  that  of  Isidore  of  Pelusium,  marked 
by  true  scriptural  faith,  good  sense  with  single  hearted  love 
to  the  Saviour,  a  sane  hungering  and  thirsting  after  right- 
eousness. 

It  was  in  534  and  535  that  the  arms  of  Belisarius  over- 
threw the  Arian  Vandals  in  Africa  and  Sicily,  and  gave 
freedom  to  the  Orthodox.  A  similar  service  was  done  for 
Italy  in  the  final  defeat  of  the  Gothic  Kingdom  there,  in  553. 

In  496  Clovis  King  of  the  Franks,  induced  by  the  en- 
treaties of^is  queen,  a  Burgundian  princess,  and  certain 
circumstances  of  his  life,  assumed  the  profession  of  Chris- 
tianity. A  great  number  of  his  people  followed  his  ex- 
ample immediately.     His  sister  and  three  thousand  of  his 


1 


85 

army  were  baptized  on  the  same  occasion,  and  came  into 
the  church  professing  the  orthodox  faith.  In  597  a  mission 
from  Rome,  sent  out  by  Gregory  I.,  to  the  Anglo-saxons  in 
England,  planted  itself  in  Kent,  where  it  met  with  favor 
from  king  Ethelbert,  through  the  influence  of  his  wife,  who 
was  a  Frank. 

The  Papacy. 

In  receiving  the  title  universal,  the  bishop  of  Rome 
enjoyed  the  imperial  gift  of  the  highest  honor  that  a  tem- 
poral monarch  could  bestow  upon  a  minister  of  religion. 
It  was  an  empty  honor.  Because  the  Byzantine  Patriarch 
never  vvithdrewji is  pretension,  and  the  eastern  church  never 
admitted  that  of^Rorne;  but  it  was  an  additional  plea  where- 
by every  effort  to  reach  a  real  ecclesiastical  monarchy 
coul4— be— plausibly  justified.  To  that  rank  the  Roman 
hierarch  had  risen  by  many  successive  steps,  vjpirst,!  that 
in  which  he  was  a  pastor  in  one  congregatiot^^^cond,  that 
in  which  he  was  the  presiding  pastor  of  one^^cTty^cTiurch 
^having  several  congregations  ministered  to  by  presbyters, 
-Third,  in  theTprocessSf  church  extension,  and  annexation 
of  mission  and  other  congregations  in  neighboring  towns, 
whose  ministers  were  bishops,  he  becarngjjie,  chief  bishop 
over  some  other  bishops,  their  Ptimns, '^ou rtR)  under  the 
constitution  of  Constantine,  he  received  the  importance  as- 
signed to  a  bishop  in  the  chief  city  of  a  diocese  of  the 
empire,  becoming  therebv.Qne  of  the  great  ecclesiastical 
exarchs,  or  archbishops  ;^jfm^when  his  rank,  with  that  of 
three  others— the  bishops  of  Constantinople  of  Antioch  and 
of  Alexandria,  was  made  to  correspond  to  the  civil  rank  of 
an  imperial  prefect,  and  dis-tinguished  by  the  title  of  Patri- 
arch, he  was  honored  above  all  except  three  peers  to  whom 
was  afterward  added  the  bishop  of  Jerusalem  "Sixth,  at  the 
Council  of  Chalcedon,  the  patriarchs  of  Rome  nnd  of  Con- Ofj/f 


stantinople  we r (^-assigned  a  highennjiior  than  the  othei 
patrTarchs;  and^S^venth^,  when  both  these  dignitaries  aimed 
at  being  sovereign7tlie  title  of  that  rank  first  conferred  by  i£  (j> 
imperial  favor  upon  the  Byzantine  Patriarch,  was  subse- 
quently by  the  same  authority  transferred  to  the  Roman. 
That  the  jurisdiction  of  the  latter  increased,  and  that  of  the 


86 

former  diminished,  was 'due  to  other  than  ecclesiastical 
causes.  The  whole  growth  was  a  natural  development.  No 
stage  of  it,  except  the  last,  was  a  preconcerted  imposition 
upon  the  church,  although  unjustifiable  means  were  some- 
times used  to  sustain  them  all.  when  once  reached.  They 
successively  grew  naturally  out  of  original  mistakes,  in 
adopting  certain  principles  from  the  municipal  idea  in  the 
heart  of  the  civil  government ;  especially  the  method  of 
church  extension,  and  in  admitting  of  only  one  church  in 
one  city,  and  one  bishop  in  one  church. 

i  During  the  frequent  invasions  of  Italy  in  the  fifth  and 
sixth  centuries  and  the  separation  of  Rome  from  other 
dominions  of  the  empire,  the  bishop  of  that  city  had  often 
to  take  upon  himself  the  execution  of  civil  duties,  not  from 
ambition,  but  from  the  necessities  of  the  case.  His  office 
thereby  became,  in  course  of  time,  associated  with  civil 
authority,  although  only  incidentally.  The  pretension  that 
it  has  always  been  from  the  days  of  the  apostles  what  it 
is  now,  or  rather  what  it  was  in  the  thirteenth  century,  is 
clearly  and  positively  contradicted  by  history.  And  in  the 
time  of  Gregory  I.  it  was  still  far  from  its  full  growth. 

In  the  course  of  the  fifth  century  we  enter  upon  the 
period  of  time  commonly  called  the  middle  ages.  Its  true 
limits  are  on  one  side,  the  extinction  of  the  western  em- 
pire, in  476,  and  on  the  other,  the  taking  of  Constantinople 
by  the  Turks,  in  1453.  That  is,  politically  considered,  the 
middle  ages  are  those  which  intervened  between  the  termi- 
nation of  the  western  empire  and  that  of  the  eastern.  Dur- 
ing all  that  time  there  is  an  emperor  in  the  east ;  but  dur- 
ing much  of  it,  none  in  the  west;  and  only  for  brief  periods, 
one  whose  authority  extends  .over  Rome.  The  bishops 
accordingly,  who  would  otherwise  have  been  second,  be- 
came first  in  all  government  proceeding  from  that  city  : 
while  at  Constantinople,  the  bishop  continued  to  be  a  sub- 
ject of  the  emperor,  and  not  altogether  independent  as 
an  ecclesiastic.  Rome  had  lost  her  power  of  empire, 
but  her  bishop  controlled  all  the  dominion  she  retained. 
Popes  were  therefore  not  ambitious  to  stand  on  a  level 
with  patriarchs.  Their  city  was  feeble,  but  it  was  the  seat 
of  the  church  which  all  christian  Europe  looked  to  as  the 


87 

standard  of  orthodoxy.  Still,  the  superiority  of  the  popes 
over  the  civil  rulers  in  the  west  was  seldom  admitted  by 
the  latter,  when  strong  enough  to  resist  it. 

In  taking  a  general  view  of  the  middle  ages,  we  shall 
find  first  a  process  of  dissolution,  extending  to  all  the  struc- 
ture of  civilization  ;  secondly,  a  process  of  settlement  of 
new  peoples,  and  by  new  methods  ;  and  thirdly,  a  process 
of  growth,  in  a  new  style  of  culture. 

The  middle  ages  are  not  all  equally  dark  ages. 
Gloomiest,  I  think,  are  the  latter  years  of  the  fifth  century, 
the  sixth,  the  seventh,  most  of  the  eighth,  the  whole  of 
the  tenth  and  first  half  of  the  eleventh. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  seventh  century,  the  popular- 
ity of  christian  profession  was  at  its  highest.  Heathenism 
had  long  ago  become  utterly  unfashionable,  within  the 
bounds  of  what  had  once  been  the  empire;  and  was  fast 
melting  away  before  the  outward  progress  of  at  least  nom- 
inal Christianity,  in  all  directions.  We  may  contemplate 
the  church,  at  that  date,  as  consisting  of  three  grand  divi- 
sions; first,  the  Latin  church,  comprehending  all  the  south- 
west of  Europe,  and  north  of  Africa  ;  second,  the  Greek 
Church ;  and  third,  the  Oriental  Churches,  consisting  of 
the  two  great  divisions  of  Monophysite,  and  Nestorian, 
extending  over  all  north  eastern  Africa,  and  western  Asia, 
and  as  far  east  as  India  and  China.  Never  perhaps  did  the 
pride  of  power,  of  pervasive  and  all-absorbing  popularity 
so  fill  the  mind  of  the  church.  That  success  had  not  been 
attained  without  earnestness  and  truth  of  faith  ;  but  unhap- 
pily also  with  the  introduction  of  many  an  error  through 
haste  to  be  great,  and  to  have  nations  born  in  one  day. 

IV.     607— -752. 

Humiliation  of    the    Eastern    Churches.     Increasing 
Power  of   the  Western  Patriarchate. 

The  period  intervening  between  the  death  of  Boniface 
III.,  and  the  accession  of  Stephen  III.,  that  is,  from  607  un- 
til 752,  includes  another  stage  in  the  development  of  Papal- 
ism.  The  former  date  is  that  of  the  death  of  the  first 
bishop  of  Rome,  who   enjoyed  the  title  of  universal,  the 


latter  is  that  of  the  accessioa  of  the  first  who  took  his 
place  as  a  temporal  prince.  Moreover  it  was  a  time  of 
great  adversity  to~tKe'ch'urch.  Both  of  the  chief  patriarchs 
suffered  diminution  of  jurisdiction,  but  the  eastern  most. 

Khosru  king  of  Persia,  who  had  been  restored  to  his 
throne  by  aid  of  the  emperor  Mauritius,  now  prepared  to 
take  vengeance  upon  Phocas  for  the  death  of  his  benefac-"" 
tor.  But  ere  his  army  could  reach  Constantinople,  Herac- 
lius  exarch  of  Africa,  in  6io,  had  seized  the  government 
and  put  Phocas  to  death.  Khosru  continued  his  march 
until  he  reached  the  Bosphorus,  and  retained  for  twelve 
years  his  hold  upon  Asia  Minor.  Heraclius  finally,  by  an 
invasion  of  Persia,  compelled  him  to  return.  By  so  long  a 
war  both  Persia  and  the  empire  were  weakened. 

Meanwhile,  about  6ii,  Mohammed  began  to  teach 
his  doctrines  in  Mecca.  His  object  was  to  overthrow  idol- 
atry, and  restore  the  worship  of  the  one  unseen  God  of  his 
father  Abraham,  The  different  portions  of  his  system  were 
announced  from  time  to  time,  as  occasion  called  them  forth 
and  combined  in  one  book  after  his  death. 

Mohammed  received  Christ  as  a  divine  teacher,  and 
the  greatest  of  the  prophets,  and  as  miraculously  born  of 
the  Virgin  Mary,  and  taught  that  all  should  believe  in  him 
as  the  apostle  of  God  ;  but  not  as  the  Son  of  God  and  a 
sufficient  Saviour. 

It  was  the  deplorable  corruption  of  the  eastern  church, 
not  so  much  in  doctrine,  as  in  life  and  worship,  and  espe- 
cially its  practical  idolatry,  which  lent  the  single,  but  sub- 
lime truth  of  Mohammedanism  its  early  power. 

Little  progress,  however,  was  made  by  Mohammed  in 
obtaining  converts  until  he  was  constrained  by  persecution 
in  Mecca,  to  flee  to  Medina.  This  event  which  occurred 
on  the  15th  of  July,  622,  is  the  starting  point  of  the  Ma- 
hommedan  era.  From  that  date  his  notoriety  increased, 
and  converts  multiplied,  and  attached  themselves  to  his 
cause  with  great  enthusiasm.  At  first  he  used  only  per- 
suasion ;  latterly  he  received  authority  to  compel  assent  to 
his  doctrines  by  force  of  arms.  He  died  in  632,  asserting 
that  God  had  given  the  world  to  be  conquered  for  Islam. 
That  very  year  the  arms  of  his  followers  were  carried  be- 
yond the  bounds  of  Arabia. 


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89 

The  successors  of  Mohammed  in  office  were  called 
Kalifs.  The  first  was  Abubeker.  In  his  reign  of  two  years 
he  reduced  all  the  countries  between  the  Euphrates  and 
the  Mediterranean.  In  636,  the  last  of  the  imperial  troops 
were  driven  out  of  Syria.  Next  year  Jerusalem  was  taken. 
Egypt  was  reduced  in  640,  the  greater  part  of  northern 
Africa  in  647,  and  Persia  in  651.  By  that  date  Mohamme- 
dan conquest  had  extended  to  the  opposite  extremes  of 
Armenia  and  Nubia.  It  took  in  also  Cyprus  and  Rhodes, 
and  advanced  against  Constantinople,  which  was  saved  by 
the  use  of  the  Greek  fire.  From  Mauritania  it  passed  into 
Spain,  overran  almost  all  the  Peninsula,  crossed  the  Pyre- 
nees into  the  heart  of  France,  and  met  its  first  check  in 
the  valley  of  the  Loire,  in  732,  from  the  army  of  the  Franks 
under  command  of  Charles  Martel. 

Thus,  within  one  hundred  years,  the  christian  church 
was  overrun,  and  trampled  down  in  Arabia,  Persia,  Syria, 
Egypt,  Northern  Africa,  part  of  Asia  Minor,  and  the 
greater  part  of  the  Spanish  peninsula.  The  Patriarchate  of 
Constantinople  was  shorn  of  a  large  part  of  its  jurisdiction  ; 
that  of  Rome,  if  we  count  in  her  claims  to  north  Africa, 
was  diminished  by  nearly  one  half,  those  of  Antioch,  Jer- 
usalem and  Alexandria,  were  entirely  reduced  to  depen- 
dencies of  the  Saracen,  and  the  Nestorian  churches  of  the 
further  east  were  overwhelmed,  and  for  centuries,  many  of 
them  forever,  disappeared  from  history. 

Of  what  remained  under  christian  dominion,  in  Italy, 
the  Greek  exarchate  gradually  broke  down  before  the  in- 
creasing strength  of  the  Lombards,  until  in  752,  it  came 
entirely  into  their  possession.  During  the  period  of  its  ex- 
istence the  capital  had  been  Ravenna.  Rome  was  only  the 
head  of  an  inferior  province  of  the  Greek  empire.  Chris- 
tian Spain  was  not  crushed  ;  but  all  except  its  Gothic  popu- 
lation lay  under  domination  of  an  anti-christian  power.  In 
France,  the  military  chiefs  had  assumed  to  a  great  degree 
the  control  of  the  church.  And  Northern  Africa  was 
prostrated  under  the  Saracenic  rule,  without  hope  of  relief. 

The  churches  of  the  west  in  view  of  such  danger  and 
loss,  turned  their  eyes  with  the  more  interest  to  their  re- 
ligious chief  at  the  old  capital.  Rome,  now  feeble,  still 
possessed  a  great  inheritance  of  prestige,  the  superiority  of 


90 

a  thousand  years,  the  source  of  empire  in  the  west,  of  re- 
ligious observances,  many  of  which  had  come  down  from 
heathen  times.  The  title,  and  rank  of  sovereign  pontiff, 
which  had  been  worn  by  the  heathen  emperors  as  chiefs  of 
the  old  state  religion,  and  also  by  the  first  christian  em- 
perors, until  declined  by  Gratian  375,  was  now  assumed  by 
thebishop  of  Rome.  Still  the  churches  in  Spain,  Gaul  and 
Britain  had  little  connection  with  that  patriarchal  capital, 
being  governed  by  their  own  episcopal  authorities  in  rela- 
tion to  the  civil  powers  under  which  they  lived. 

The  pope  was  still  a  subject  of  the  eastern  emperor, 
and  had  to  be  confirmed  in  ofifice  by  him,  and  to  pay  him 
taxes.  And  sometimes  the  imperial  hand  fell  heavily  upon 
a  refractory  pope.  But  such  an  act  was  always  treasured 
up  in  memory,  and  handed  down  to  succeeding  popes  for 
payment.  And  every  advantage  secured  was  thence  for- 
ward claimed  as  a  right.  Thus,  Pope  Sergius  rejected  the 
canons  of  the  second  council  in  Trullo,692.  The  emperor, 
Justinian  II.,  sent  an  ofificer  to  arrest  him;  but  the  pope 
escaped  through  an  insurrection  in  Ravenna.  The  emperor 
was  deposed  in  695,  for  reasons  unconnected  with  the 
church,  but  the  victory  remained  with  the  Papacy.  Justin- 
ian II.,  after  his  restoration  in  705,  received  Pope  Constan- 
tine  in  his  capital,  overloaded  him  with  extravagant  honors, 
and  set  the  example,  of  kissing  his  foot. 

I  As  the  weight  of  the  empire  continued  to  diminish  in 
Italy,  the  popes  began  to  turn  their  eyes  towards  an  alli- 
ance with  the  Frank  leaders.  Gregory  III.,  applied  to 
Charles  Martel,  the  hero  of  Poitiers,  for  that  protection 
against  the  Lombards,  which  his  own  monarch  was  unable 
to  furnish.  Gregory  III.  was  followed  by  Zacharias  in  741, 
in  whose  pontificate  the  policy  of  Gregory  became  a  neces- 
sity. From  the  utter  failure  of  the  secular  arm  to  defend 
Rome,  the  Pope  was  constrained  to  take  upon  himself  en- 
tirely that  state  business,  which  his  predecessors  had  long 
been  more  or  less  sustaining.  Pepin,  the  son  of  Charles 
Martel  in  751  usurped  the  throne  of  France,  and  applied  to 
the  Pope  for  his  sanction.  It  was  granted.  At  Soisson  by 
the  Pope's  commission  and  by  the  hand  of  Boniface,  the 
founder  of  the  German  church,  Pepin  was  anointed  King, 
a    favor    afterward    conferred    by    the    pope    in    person. 


91 

The  last  Merovingian  went  into  a  cloister.  Zacharias 
died  early  in  752.  His  successor  was  Stephen  II.,  after 
only  three  days,  followed  by  Stephen  III.  The  Lombards 
were  making  war  upon  the  exarchate  of  Ravenna.  Before 
the  end  of  the  year  they  had  reduced  it.  They  next  turned 
their  arms  against  Rome.  Stephen  applied  to  the  new 
King  of  France  for  aid.  In  the  name  of  the  empire,  and  as 
defender  of  its  territory,  Pepin  led  his  forces  into  Italy,  de- 
feated the  Lombards  and  saved  Rome.  Taking  from 
the  Lombards  what  they  had  recently  conquered  from  the 
emperor,  he  gave  it  to  the  pope.  The  districts  contained 
in  that  gift  constituted  the  skeleton  of  what  was  afterwards 
embraced  under  the  name  of  the  States  of  the  church.  Thus 
the  Pope  took  his  place  as  a  secular  prince.  He  had  also 
allied  himself  with  a  new  and  powerful  dynasty  in  the  west, 
whose  influence  was  exerted  to  bring  the  Galilean  church 
into  closer  relations  to  Rome.  A  point  of  authority  was 
also  established,  in  that  the  first  king  of  the  new  dynasty 
had  solicited  papal  sanction,  and  accepted  anointment  at 
the  hands  of  the  Pope.  The  Papacy  was  put  into  posses- 
sion of  great  wealth.  Allegiance  to  the  emperor  was  not 
formally  repudiated,  but  it  had  ceased  to  be  more  than 
nominal. 


During  this  period  the  principal  theological  question 
was  that  concerning  the  singleness  or  duality  of  will  in 
Christ. 

When  the  emperor  Heraclius  was  in  Syria,  from  622, 
he  became  acquainted  more  intimately  with  the  condition 
of  the  Monophysites,  and  was  persuaded  that  the  principal 
obstacle  to  their  returning  into  the  Catholic  church  might 
be  removed,  by  a  statement  of  doctrine  representing  the 
nature  of  Christ  as  two-fold,  but  the  will  as  one.  Sergius, 
patriarch  of  Constantinople,  was  consulted  on  the  subject, 
and  expressed  his  opinion  that  such  a  view  was  not  incon- 
sistent with  the  creed  of  the  church.  Several  theologians 
of  the  east  coincided  with  him.  Cyrus  patriarch  of  Alex- 
andria accepted  the  doctrine,  and  made  some  progress  in 
reconciling  the  two  parties  within  his  diocese.  Action  to 
that  effect  was  taken  by  a  council  in  Alexandria,  in  633. 
But  Sophronius,  a  clearer  thinking  Palestinian  monk,  hap- 


92 

pened  to  be  there  at  the  time,  and  declared  his  opposition. 
He  became  patriarch  of  Jerusalem  next  year,  and  used  his 
increased  influence  to  promote  the  rising  excitement  of  con- 
troversy. Sergius  of  Constantinople  succeeded  in  enlistmg 
Honorius,  bishop  of  Rome,  on  his  side.  Thus  the  Patriarchs 
of  Constantinople,  of  Rome  and  of  Alexandria  were  arrayed 
on  the  Monothelite  side,  against  the  Patriarch  of  Jerusalem. 
Sophronius  however  had  the  advantage  of  his  opponents  in 
point  of  logic,  and  his  reasoning  soon  convinced  the  greater 
number  of  theologians.  But  he  was  silenced  by  the  Mo- 
hammedans, into  whose  hands  he  and  his  patriarchate  fell 
in  637.  He  died  soon  after.  Next  year,  the  emperor  find- 
ing that  instead  of  harmony,  only  greater  division  of  opin- 
ion was  produced  by  his  doctrine,  issued  what  he  called  the 
Ecthcsis,  prepared  by  Sergius,  with  the  hope  of  allaying  the 
excitement.  In  that  proclamation  he  stated  the  doctrine 
of  one  Christ  in  two  natures,  and  that  the  one  Christ  works 
both  what  is  divine  and  what  is  human ;  but  urged  that  the 
phrases  expressive  of  one  energy  or  of  two  energies,  which 
had  been  used  in  controversy,  should  be  avoided.  Both 
parties  were  dissatisfied.  Succeeding  bishops  of  Rome  re- 
jected the  Ecthesis,  and  in  the  east,  orthodoxy  was  ably  de- 
fended by  the  monk  Maximus,  while  Theodore  bishop  of 
Pharan  in  Arabia  upheld  the  cause  of  the  Monothelites.  In 
648  the  emperor  Constans  II.  issued  an  edict  called  the 
Typus,  {ruTto^)  by  which  the  Ecthesis  was  revoked,  and 
without  taking  the  part  of  either  side,  an  attempt  was  made 
to  restrain  violent  disputes,  and  effect  peace  in  the  church. 
Of  course  it  did  not  succeed.  Pope  Martin  I.  called  a 
council  in  Rome,  the  first  Lateran,  the  next  year,  at  which 
twenty  canons  were  drawn  up  condemning  Monothelitism, 
thereby  putting  himself  in  opposition  to  the  imperial  policy. 
For  that  he  was,  in  653,  arrested,  deposed,  and  taken  to  Con- 
stantinople, on  charge  of  high  treason.  He  was  banished, 
654,  to  Chersonesus  in  the  Crimea,  where  he  soon  after- 
wards-died. 

Maximus  met  with  a  similar,  but  severer  fate.  His 
trial  effecting  no  disposition  in  him  to  comply  with  the 
imperial  edict,  he  was  imprisoned  several  years,  then 
publicly  scourged,  his  tongue  cut  out,  and  his  right  hand 
cut  off  He  was  then  banished  to  the  country  of  Lazica  on 
the  Black  Sea,  where  he  died,  in  662, 


93 

As  another  means  of  reconciling  the  long  standing 
dispute,  the  emperor  Constantine  IV.  called  a  general 
council  to  meet  at  Constantinople,  in  680.  It  assembled 
in  a  hall  of  the  palace  called  Trullus.  The  emperor  pre- 
sided. The  doctrine  of  two  wills  was  accepted  as  script- 
ural ;  that  is,  that  in  Christ  there  are  two  natures  in  one 
person  ;  each  nature  possessing  a  will  of  its  own  ;  and  the 
Monothelite  doctrine  of  two  natures  in  one  person,  with 
only  one  will,  was  condemned. 

Under  the  emperor  Philippicus  Bardanes,  711 — 713, 
the  controversy  was  revived  in  the  east,  but  for  only  a 
short  time.  Monothelites  diminished  in  number,  and 
ultimately  became  limited  to  a  small  dissenting  party  who 
.residing  chiefly  in  the  region  of  Lebanon,  chose  a  patriarch 
of  Antioch  for  themselves.  A  remnant  of  them  still  sur- 
vives under  the  name  of  Maronites. 

In  the  course  of  the  seventh  century  the  Symbolum 
Quicumque,  commonly  called  the  Athanasian  Creed,  came 
into  notice,  by  what  authority  drawn  up,  or  at  what  date  is 
unknown.  The  earliest  example  of  its  adoption  as  a  creed 
appears  in  a  canon  of  the  council  of  Cressy,  djd.  It  is 
the  third  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Symbols,  the  Apostles' 
Creed  and  the  Niceno  Constantinopolitan  being  the  first 
and  second. 

In  outward  progress  of  the  church  the  most  important 
steps  were  those  of  mission  work  in  the  British  isles. 

Augustin  with  Laurentius  and  other  Benedictine 
monks,  .sent  by  Gregory  I.  to  the  Anglo-Saxons,  landed  on 
the  coast  of  Kent  in  597.  Their  success  proved  to  be 
great  beyond  expectation.  The  king  of  Kent  soon  pro- 
fessed himself  a  christian,  and  was  followed  by  his  people, 
ten  thousand  of  whom  were  baptized  in  one  day.  Canter- 
bury was  constituted  an  archbishopric,  and  Augustin  its 
first  incumbent  in  604.  At  the  end  of  five  years,  he  was 
succeeded  by  his  companion  Laurentius ;  and  the  work 
went  on  prosperously. 

The  latter  years  of  the  sixth  century  and  the  seventh 
were  marked  by  great  missionary  zeal  on  the  part  of 
British  christians  of  the  older  connection.  By  the  with- 
drawal of  Roman  troops  from  the  island  in  418  the  British 


94 

churches  were  cut  off  from  communication  with  Rome. 
Subsequent  interposition  of  heathen  Saxons  increased  that 
isolation.  About  the  year  430,  the  gospel  was  carried 
from  christian  Britain  into  the  north  of  Ireland  by  Patri- 
cius.  Others  had  preceded  him,  yet  so  far  superior  was 
the  success  which  attended  the  preaching  of  Patricius,  that 
Ireland  refers  the  planting  of  her  church  entirely  to  him. 
It  was  in  the  counties  Down  and  Armagh  that  he  com- 
menced his  labors,  which  soon  extended  to  all  the  north, 
and  thence,  by  the  hands  of  others  the  gospel  was  carried 
to  the  rest  of  the  island. 

From  the  middle  of  the  sixth  century,  the  Irish  clergy 
were  distinguished  for  learning  superior  to  the  age  in  other 
quarters,  and  for  missionary  zeal.  Their  principal  school 
and  centre  of  operations  was  Bangor,  in  the  county  Down. 
In  563,  Columba  left  Ireland  to  carry  the  gospel  into  the 
northwest  of  Scotland,  where  it  had  not  then  been  preached. 
With  his  companions  he  was  favorably  received  by  a  chief 
of  the  Hebrides,  who  gave  him  the  island  of  lona.  There 
he  erected  a  church,  and  a  house  for  himself  and  his  mis- 
sionaries, who  from  that  centre  extended  their  excursions 
to  various  parts  of  the  mainland  and  neighboring  islands. 
In  635,  Oswald,  king  of  Northumbria,  obtained  a  mission- 
ary from  lona  to  preach  within  his  dominions,  and  gave 
im  for  residence  the  island  of  Lindisfarne.  The  success 
of  that  mission  was  rapid,  and  churches  were  soon  planted 
as  far  south  as  Yorkshire  and  even  in  the  centre  of  Eng- 
land. At  the  same  time  the  Romish  missions  from  the 
south  were  rapidly  advancing  northward.  In  the  conflict 
of  authorities  which  ensued,  the  power  of  lona  could  not 
withstand  that  from  Rome.  The  churches  of  the  northern 
mission  were,  before  the  end  of  the  seventh  century,  com- 
prehended within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  southern.  Lindis- 
farne became  a  Romish  monastery,  and  its  episcopal 
authority  was  transferred  to  Durham.  York  was  the  seat 
of  an  archbishopric;  but  Canterbury  was  honored  with  the 
primacy  of  all  England.  Articles  enforcing  obedience  of 
the  churches  in  the  north  of  England  to  the  Romish  prac- 
tices were  proposed  by  Theodore  of  Canterbury  in  a  pro- 
vincial council  for  the  north,  in  674. 

It  was  also  in  the  early  part  of  ^he  seventh  century 
that  Columbanus  and   Gallus  left  Ire'  .nd  at  the  head  of 


1  * 


95 

another  little  group  of  missionaries  to  preach  in  Burgundy, 
France  and  Switzerland.  Columbanus  died  in  615  and 
Gallus  in  627.  And  before  the  middle  of  the  eighth  cen- 
tury the  British  monk,  Boniface,  had  finished  his  work  of 
organizing  the  churches  of  Germany. 

V.     752—880. 

Re-settlement.     Early  Papal  Success.     Organization 
OF  the  National  Churches  of  the  West. 

Leagued  with  the  great  Carolingian  kings  of  France, 
the  Papacy  now  entered  upon  the  first  period  of  its  real 
supremacy  in  the  west.  That  period  extends  from  the  pon- 
tificate of  Stephen  III.,  until  880,  the  date  of  the  difference, 
which  was  never  reconciled,  between  the  Patriarchs  of  Con- 
stantinople and  of  Rome,  and  the  beginning  of  the  medieval 
decline  of  the  Papacy.  Another  feature  of  the  time  was 
the  settlement  of  the  new  nations,  the  chief  work  of  Charle- 
magne, who  also  forced  upon  his  heathen  subjects  the  pro- 
fession of  Christianity,  by  having  them  baptized. 

It  was  within  the  same  period  that  the  Iconoclast 
controversy  ran  the  most  exciting  part  of  its  course.  By 
the  beginning  of  the  seventh  century  the  worship  of  im- 
ages had  become  common  throughout  the  church  both 
east  and  west.  Opposition  to  it  was  the  strong  point  of 
Mohammedanism.  Though  far  from  meeting  the  approval 
of  the  more  scripturally  instructed  clergy  and  laity,  the 
masses  of  the  christian  populace  and  a  sufficiently  great 
number  of  the  clergy  to  sustain  them  were  devotedlv  at- 
tached to  their  images.  In  726,  the  emperor  Leo  Isauri- 
cus  i.ssued  an  edict  forbidding  the  practice  ;  and  in  730  he 
ordered  the  images  or  pictures  to  be  destroyed.  The  op- 
position of  Germanus,  patriarch  of  Constantinople,  was 
overcome  by  deposing  him,  and  setting  up  Anastasius. 
Rome  defended  image  wor>hip.  And  Catholic  christians 
under  Mohammedan  rule  adhered  to  the  practice  as  a  dis- 
tinctive badge  of  their  religion. 

The  course  of  the  Emperor  Leo  was  also  pursued  by  his 
successor  Constantine,  in  whose  reign  the  council  of  754,  at 
Constantinople,  condemned  the  worship  of  images,  but  not 


96 

to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Catholic  public,  nor  of  the  bishop 
of  Rome,  who  did  not  recognize  the  council.  A  new  stage 
of  the  controversy  opened,  the  imperial  authority  being 
generally  arrayed  against  images,  and  the  popes  in  favor  of 
them,  until  in  the  minority  of  the  Emperor  Constantine 
VI.,  his  mother  Irene  became,  in  780,  empress-regent,  and 
sustained  the  cause  of  the  image- worshipers.  Irene  called 
a  general  council  to  meet  in  Nice,  in  787,  which,  with  her 
support,  declared  image-worship  to  be  orthodox,  and  de- 
fined and  prescribed  the  practice.  That  council  is  accepted 
by  both  east  and  west  Catholic  churches,  and  remains  their 
authority  on  the  subject. 

The  controversy  was  opened  a  third  time  by  the  Em- 
peror Leo  V.  who,  in  815,  called  a  council  at  Constantin- 
ople, in  which  image-worship  was  condemned.  But  finally, 
when  another  princess  came  into  power,  namely  Theodora, 
a  fourth  council,  convoked  at  Constantinople,  in  842,  sus- 
tained the  image-worshipers,  confirming  the  second  coun- 
cil of  Nice.  And  the  controversy  closed  with  a  grand  fes- 
tival, called  the  festival  of  orthodoxy,  in  honor  of  that  de- 
cision. 

In  the  west,  during  part  of  the  eighth  century,  some 
controversy  was  created  by  the  opinion  of  two  Spanish 
bishops,  Elipand  of  Toledo,  and  Felix  of  Urgel.that  Christ 
in  his  divine  nature  was  the  true  Son  of  God,  but  as  a  man, 
only  the  adopted  son.  The  opinion  was  rejected  as  heretical 
by  the  council  at  Frankfort  in  794. 

Tran.substantiation  of  the  elements  in  the  Eucharist  was 
first  formally  taught  and  defended  by  Paschasius  Radbert, 
abbot  of  Corbey,  from  844  to  851.  Though  practically 
held  by  very  many  in  the  church,  from  earlier  time,  it  en- 
countered opposition,  when  first  proposed  as  a  dogma,  and 
was  not  accepted  authoritatively,  nor  was  the  term  tran- 
substantiation  introduced,  until  long  afterwards.  Rabanus 
Maurus,  and  Ratramnus,  the  ablest  theologians  of  the  ninth 
century,  wrote  against  it. 

Controversy  was  revived  on  the  subject  of  predesti- 
nation by  the  writings  of  Gottschalk,  a  monk  of  Fulda,  who 
from  about  840  taught  that  there  is  a  two-fold  predesti- 
nation of  the  elect  to  blessedness,  and  of  the  rest  of  man- 
,kind  to  punishment.  He  was  opposed  by  Rabanus  Maurus, 


97 

Archbishop  of  Mentz,  and  Hincmar,  Arclibishop  of  Rheims. 
After  years  of  controversy,  Gottschalk  was  condemned  to 
imprisonment,  in  which  he  died,  in  868. 

A  difference  of  opinion  concerning  the  procession  of 
the  Holy  Spirit  had  more  immediate  effect  upon  the  history 
of  the  church.  The  creed  of  the  general  councils  states  that 
the  Holy  Spirit  proceeds  from  the  Father.  A  conviction, 
which  appeared  first  in  Spain,  in  the  acts  of  a  council  at 
Toledo,  in  589,  and  again  in  other  Spanish  councils  of  the 
seventh  century,  that  He  proceeds  from  both  the  Father 
and  the  Son,  was,  sometime  in  the  early  part  of  the  ninth 
century,  introduced  into  the  Latin  version  of  the  Creed. 
The  proposal  to  insert  it  in  the  original  Greek  was  rejected 
by  the  council  of  Constantinople  in  879.  On  the  subject 
Qi  filioque,  the  eastern  and  western  Catholic  church  estab- 
lished a  permanent  difference  of  doctrine. 

In  Armenia,  Parsism  became  blended  with  Christian- 
ity, giviitg  rise  to  that  sect  called  by  other  Christians 
"  The  children  of  the  sun."  '*  On  the  other  hand  a  class  of 
reformers  arose  in  the  east,  toward  the  middle  of  the  seventh 
century,  who  sought  to  conform  closely  to  the  teachings  of 
the  apostles,  especially  of  John  and  Paul.  From  the  fre- 
quent use  among  them  of  the  name  and  writings  of  the  last 
mentioned,  it  is  thought,  they  received  the  name  Paulicians, 
by  which  they  are  known.  Their  leaders,  in  many  cases, 
assumed  the  names  of  persons  connected  with  Paul  in  his 
labors.  They  suffered  much  persecution.  Constantine, 
who  took  the  name  Silvanus,  an  eminent  teacher  among 
them,  in  the  neighborhood  of  Samosata,  between  657  and 
684,  was  stoned  to  death  by  order  of  the  emperor  Constan- 
tine IV.  But  the  officer  who  executed  the  order  became  a 
convert  to  the  cause,  and  a  preacher  of  it  under  the  name  of 
Titus,  and  died  at  the  stake  under  Justinian  II.  The 
Paulicians  were  opposed  to  image-worship,  and  for  that  rea- 
son were  protected  by  the  emperor  Leo  Isauricus.  Through 
the  latter  part  of  the  eighth  century  and  until  811,  they  in- 
creased in  number,  and  spread  their  churches  over  Asia 
Minor.  From  811,  persecution  was  revived  and  continued 
many  years,  especially  under  the  rule  of  the  zealous  image- 
worshiper  Theodora,  from  841  to  855,  who  with  a  fanatical 
fury  resolved  to  extirpate  them.     Not  less  than  a  hundred 


98 

thousand  are  said  to  have  been  slain  in  Armenia  by  her 
officers.  Many  of  them  fled  for  refuge  to  the  Saracens, 
and  finding  protection  added  their  force  to  the  enemies  of 
the  empire.  But  notwithstanding  persecution,  their  con- 
verts also  increased  to  the  westward,  and  Paulician  churches 
were  founded  in  Thrace  and  Bulgaria,  and  thence  at  a  later 
date,  their  doctrines  spread  under  various  names,  into  the 
west  of  Europe. 

The  last  years  of  the  eighth  century,  and  earlier  part 
of  the  ninth,  were  marked  by  a  highly  laudable  effort  at 
reform  and  restoration  of  learning,  made  by  both  Christian 
and  Mohammedan  princes. 

IJ  Among  the  Saracens,  it  was  the  time  of  the  great 
Abbasside  Kalifs  of  Bagdad,  a  dynasty  elevated  in  750,  at 
Damascus,  by  the  cruel  success  of  Abul  Abbas,  called  Al 
Saffah.  Their  seat  of  government  was  subsequently  re- 
moved to  Hashemiah,  and  in  762  to  Bagdad.  A\  Mansur 
and  Al  Mahadi  successively  reigned  after  Abul  Abbas  until 
785,  when  it  reached  its  highest  excellence  under  Harun 
Al  Raschid.  Upon  his  death  in  8c^,  his  sons  Al  Amin, 
Al  Mamun  and  Al  Motassem  reigned  successively  until 
84^-,  From  that  date  Bagdad  began  to  decline,  and  suc- 
ceeding barbaric  invasions  rendered  the  lost  irretrievable. 

In  Spain,  the  Moors  within  this  period  began  their 
career  of  civilization,  which  they  continued  until  the  rise 
of  modern  learning. 

In  the  Greek  empire,  the  state  of  culture  was  little 
improved  ;  but  one  or  two  authors  flourished  there  greatly 
superior  to  any  of  the  immediately  preceding  periods. 

In  the  west  of  Christian  Europe,  the  effort  towards 
restoration  of  learning  and  of  ecclesiastical  order  was 
earnestly  made,  by  those  at  the  head  of  the  civil  govern- 
ment, Pepin,  Charlemagne,  and  Louis,  from  751  to  840. 
For  the  time  then  being,  their  success  was  not  equal  to 
that  of  the  Mohammedan  princes  ;  but  the  seeds  they 
planted  bore  more  abundant  fruit,  in  a  far  distant  future. 
The  sons  of  Louis  divided  their  father's  dominion,  and  en- 
feebled their  resources ;  but  they  also  patronized  letters  in 
some  degree.  With  the  death  of  Charles  the  Bald  in  8yy^ 
such  patronage  ceased  in  that  quarter.     But  almost  at  the 


~U1-^ 


^-^w^ 


4-^9jJbu 


i-N~>^        ^Jk_ 


Vw-tf 


^-*~J»^         L-  •         --. 


^"'"W-vVI 


99 

same  time  commenced  the  reign  of  Alfred  the  Great  in 
England,  extending  from  871  until  900. 

With  all  the  encouragement  of  Charlemagne,  the  im- 
provement in  learning  was  very  slender.  Few  cared  to 
study,  and  the  course  of  instruction  even  in  the  improved 
schools  was  scanty.  The  topics  of  the  Trivimn  and 
Quadrivium  were  briefly  and  superficially  treated.  Among 
the  scholars  who  illustrate  the  time  were  Alcuinus,  Egin- 
hard,  Rabanus  Maurus,  Hincmar,  Ratramnus,  John  Scot 
Erigena,  Agobard  of  Lyons,  and  Claudius  of  Turin.  Among 
the  Greeks  the  principal  name  is  that  of  Photius. 

For  thirty  years  Charlemagne  made  war  on  various 
nations  of  Saxons,  Bohemians  and  Huns,  whom  he  sub- 
dued, and  constrained  to  profess  Christianity.  He  also  in- 
vaded the  Mohammedans  in  Spain,  and  drove  them  from 
that  part  of  the  peninsula  north  of  the  Ebro.  In  772  he 
went  into  Italy  to  protect  the  Pope  from  the  Lombards, 
and  before  the  end  of  two  years,  extinguished  the  independ- 
ence of  that  people.  And  in  786,  the  duke  of  Benevento 
submitted  to  hold  his  duchy  as  a  fief  of  the  irresistible  mon- 
arch. The  dominion  thus  built  up,  by  the  end  of  the 
eighth  century  extended  from  the  Ebro  and  south  of  Italy 
to  the  Elbe  and  Eider  in  the  north,  and  from  the  Atlantic 
to  Pannonia  all  included  with  half  the  valley  of  the  Theis 
in  Hungary. 

Pope  Leo  III.  taking  this  open  fact  into  consideration, 
resolved  to  dismiss  the  last  empty  show  of  allegiance  to 
Constantinople,  and  connect  his  ofiice,  on  different  terms, 
with  the  new  monarchy  of  the  west,  by  reviving  the  wes- 
tern empire.  On  the  25th  of  December,  800,  Charlemagne 
was  at  Rome  in  the  church  of  St.  Peter.  When  kneeling 
at  the  altar,  he  was  approached  solemnly  by  the  Pope,  who 
placed  on  his  head  a  golden  crown,  and  pronounced  him 
emperor  of  Rome,  and  from  the  vast  congregation  burst 
forth  the  exclamation,  "  Life  and  victory  to  Charles, 
crowned  by  God  emperor  of  Rome." 

There  was  now  again  an  emperor  of  the  west,  and 
Rome  and  the  Papacy  were  finally  separated  from  the  em- 
perors of  the  east,  and  from  the  Byzantine  system.  This 
is  the  point  at  which  the  Popes  became  legally  indepen- 
dent.    For  ecclesiastical  supremacy  was  never  recognized 


100 

as  belonging  to  the  new  imperial  line  of  the  west.  The 
idea  of  being  free  from  civil  allegiance,  however,  did  not  at 
first  occur  to  the  successors  of  Leo  III.  But  not  quite  half 
a  century  had  elapsed  ere  that  also  was  claimed.  Eugenius 
II.,  in  824  took  an  oath  of  allegiance;  but  Sergius  II.,  in 
844  ventured  to  neglect  it,  advantage  being  taken  of  the 
divided  state  of  the  secular  power.  And  in  847  Leo  IV, 
was  not  only  ordained  without  imperial  sanction,  but  aLo 
assumed  precedence  of  princes  in  putting  his  name  to  doc 
uments.  An  attempt  was  made  by  Nicholas  I.  in  858  to 
impose  papal  superiority  upon  Constantinople.  The  em- 
peror Michael  III.  having  removed  the  patriarch  Ignatius, 
and  appointed  Photius  in  his  stead,  Ignatius  applied  to  the 
pope,  who  having  first  in  vain  demanded  the  restoration  of 
theecclesiasticaljurisdiction  oflllyricum,  Macedonia,  Epirus, 
Thessaly,  Achaia,  and  Sicily,  with  the  addition  of  Bulgaria, 
took  revenge  by  excommunicating  Photius.  Photius  reta- 
liated by  excommunicating  Nicholas.  Ignatius  was  restor- 
ed by  the  succeeding  emperor  Basilius.  867,  but  neither  of 
them  complied  with  the  pope's  demand.  A  general  coun- 
cil at  Constantinople  in  869,  condemned  Photius.  After 
the  death  of  Ignatius  in  878,  Photius  was  restored.  And 
another  council  at  Constantinople  in  879,  labored  to  recon- 
cile the  two  hierarchs,  but  without  effect.  Because  among 
other  things  it  could  not  recognize  Rome  as  the  last  court 
of  appeal,  nor  assent  to  the  western  doctrine  of  the  pro- 
cession of  the  Holy  Sp'rit,  nor  to  the  claim  of  ecclesiastical 
jurisdiction  over  Bulgar'a  and  other  provinces  above  named. 
Consequently  the  council  of  879  was  anathematized  by 
pope  John  VIII.,  in  880.  The  bishops  of  the  east  and  west 
never  again  met  in  a  general  council  of  both  churches. 
For  the  eastern  Catholic  church  recognizes  no  council  as 
general  since  that  of  879. 

With  the  reign  of  Charlemagne  begins  the  true  settle- 
ment of  the  nations  of  western  Europe,  and  the  period  of 
dissolution  comes  to  an  end. 

In  the  constitution  of  his  empire,  Charlemagne  had 
special  regard  to  the  interests  of  the  church.  And  that  of 
Rome  was  the  model  which  he  endeavored  to  follow ;  but 
without  recognizing  its  supremacy.  The  highest  authority  in 


101 

affairs  of  government  was  retained  for  the  monarch,  who  sum 
moned  ecclesiastical  as  well  as  civil  assemblies,  and  whose 
sanction  was  needed  to  confirm  their  decrees.  And  in  the 
administration  of  law,  bishops  and  counts  were  associated, 
and  instructed  to  support  each  other.  Neither  Pepin  nor 
Charlemagne,  though  paying  great  honor  to  popes,  ever  al- 
lowed them  any  other  influence  in  affairs  of  state  than  that 
of  advice  or  remonstrance.  Thus,  the  Gallican  church  ob- 
tained, in  its  reconstruction  under  those  great  princes,  a 
degree  of  freedom  which  no  other  western  church  could 
claim. 

In  the  reign  of  Louis,  papal  influence  was  suffered  to 
increase,  and  every  advantage  was  taken,  by  the  popes,  of 
the  division  and  enfeebling  of  the  empire  by  his  sons. 

The  Anglo-Saxon  church  of  Britain  was  most  faith- 
fully attached  to  Rome.  It  had  no  antiquity  of  greater 
purity  to  regret.  In  Spain,  christians  living  under  Moorish 
rule  were  allovved  the  privileges  of  worship,  and  of  internal 
church  government  and  discipline,  but  suffered  in  many 
ways  from  the  Mohammedan  populace.  Gothic  Spaniards 
were  independent,  and  almost  continually  at  war  with  the 
Moors. 

Mission  work  was  confined  chiefly  to  the  north  of 
Europe.  That  of  Anschar,  commenced  in  826,  carried 
Christianity  into  Deninark  and  Sweden,  and  laid  the  foun- 
dation for  the  archbishopric  of  Hamburg-Bremen,  which 
was  constituted  in  831.  And  what  Anschar  and  his  com- 
panions were  to  the  northwest  of  Europe,  Cyril  and  Meth- 
odius were  to  the  northeast.  Through  their  efforts,  the 
Moravians  were  added  to  the  eastern  church,  about  the 
year  862,  the  Bulgarians  about  864 ;  and  in  subsequent 
years  the  same  labors  were  extended  to  the  Chazars,  a  peo- 
ple living  to  the  north  of  the  Black  sea.  From  Moravia  the 
cause  was  carried,  in  871,  into  Bohemia. 

The  discipline  of  the  church  had  undergone  a  change. 
Private  confession  was  now  completely  established  ;  and  the 
priest  was  empowered  to  grant  absolution  under  condition 
of  a  penance  to  be  performed.  Excommunication  was  not 
often  inflicted,  but  from  the  civil  forfeitures,  and  the  social 
exclusion  connected  with  it.  had  become  intensified  in  its 
terrors. 


102 

Superstitious  rites  and  observances  were  greatly  mul- 
tiplied. Saints  and  their  relics  increased  on  all  hands,  and 
legends  of  their  virtues  and  miracles,  manufactured  chiefly 
in  the  east  and  at  Rome,  were  greedil}^  accepted  by  an 
ignorant  public  everywhere.  The  festival  of  All  Saints 
gradually  grew  into  use  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  centuries, 
and  in  the  ninth,  was  regularly  appointed  by  Gregory  IV., 
for  the  first  of  November.  A  festival  was  introduced  in 
honor  of  the  birth  of  the  Virgin  Mary  on  the  8th  of  Sep- 
tember, and  for  her  assumption,  on  the  15th  of  August.  For 
it  had  now  been  decided  that  Mary  was  taken  up  bodily  to 
heaven.  Certain  writings  were  presented  by  the  eastern 
emperor  Michael  11.  to  the  western  emperor  Louis  the 
pious,  as  the  works  of  Dionysius  the  Areopagite.  French 
scholars  and  people,  taking  the  pretended  author  to  be 
the  founder  of  their  church,  and  confusing  the  two  per- 
sonalities, accepted  the  same  Dionysius  as  their  patron 
saint.  Within  the  same  period  the  christian  Spaniards  dis- 
covered among  them  the  wonderfully  preserved  body  of  the 
apostle  James  the  brother  of  John  which  forthwith  became 
their  Palladium  in  war  with  the  Moors.  But  every  coun- 
try, almost  every  family,  had  its  patron  saint,  embellished 
with  his,  or  her,  miracles. 

In  the  growth  of  the  papacy  in  the  ninth  century  above 
all  that  it  had  previously  been,  attempts  were  made  to  fortify 
the  ground  taken,  and  construct  the  weapons  for  conquer- 
ing more,  by  the  fabrication  of  certain  authorities.  Certain 
canons  of  councils  unheard  of  before,  and  forged  epistles  of 
early  popes  were  inserted  into  the  collection  of  ecclesiastical 
laws,  which  went  under  the  name  of  Isidore  of  Seville. 
They  were  of  a  nature,  if  enforced,  to  make  the  clergy  in- 
dependent of  the  state,  with  the  Roman  see  the  centre  of 
their  system.  They  were  quoted  as  law  from  857  and  the 
time  of  Pope  Nicholas  I.,  858-867,  until  their  exposure  in 
the  eighteenth  century.  Another  similar  forgery  which 
came  into  operation  in  the  same  connection  Avas  the  pre- 
tended donation  by  Constantine  I.  of  his  Lateran  palace  and 
imperial  authority  in  the  west  to  the  popes,  which  went  to 
sustain  their  assumption  of  rank  above  all  civil  potentates 
and  powers.  This  also  continued  to  be  adduced  as  of  legal 
force  until  exposed  by  modern  criticism. 


103 

Amidst  accumulating  errors  and  corruptions  there 
/were  still  numerous  examples  of  pastoral  fidelity  and  of 
true  christian  life  among  both  clergy  and  laity.  Agobard, 
bishop  of  Lyons,  in  the  reign  of  Louis  the  pious,  finding 
the  worship  of  his  church  debased  by  the  superstition  and 
ignorance  of  his  predecessors,  upon  his  own  judgment,  re- 
moved from  it  everything  inconsistent  with  scriptural  doc- 
trine, and  confined  himself  as  much  as  possible  to  scriptural 
forms  of  expression.  A  still  bolder  reformer,  in  the  spirit 
of  Christ,  was  Claudius  bishop  of  Turin,  who  contended 
earnestly  for  the  simplicity  of  Christian  faith,  in  opposition 
to  the  sensuous  and  idolatrous  practices  of  the  age.  He 
exerted  an  influence  upon  the  church  of  Turin  which  hon- 
orably distinguished  it  long  afterwards.  • 

VI.  880—1054. 
Papal  Degeneracy. 

In  the  pontificate  of  John  VIII.  the  Papacy  had 
reached  the  prime  of  its  early  success,  having  succeeded 
in  gathering  together  in  itself  all  the  elements  of  Roman- 
ism. By  the  same  time  a  long  succession  of  emperors  and 
patriarchs  in  Constantinople  had  matured  the  system  of 
Byzantinism.  It  was  impossible  that  they  could  live  together 
in  harmony,  diametrically  opposite  as  they  were  to  each 
other.  Some  of  the  points  on  which  the  Pope  and  Patriarch 
differed  in  S/y  and  880,  were  such  as  could  not  be  com- 
promised. Still,  they  continued  for  one  hundred  and 
seventy-four  years,  to  hold  relations  to  each  other  as  min- 
isters in  the  same  Catholic  church,  although  in  a  state  of 
bitter  rivalry,  until  in  the  year  1054,  they  separated  entirely, 
rending  the  Catholic  church  in  two.  The  intervening 
period  is  the  lowest  in  the  history  of  civilized  Europe.  It 
is  marked  by  papal  degeneracy;  by  the  dismemberment  of 
the  western  empire,  and  its  revival  as  German,  and  by  the 
darkest  shades  of  popular  ignorance. 

I.  Louis  the  pious  having  divided  the  empire  among 
his  three  sons,  died  in  840.  His  sons  immediately  rushed 
into  war  with  each  other,  and  made  a  new  division,  by 
the  treaty  of  Verdun  in  843,  whereby  the  general  outlines 


104 

of  France  and  Germany  were  assigned.  But  between  these 
two  countries  there  was  left  a  belt  of  territory,  which  united 
to  the  Netherlands  on  the  north  and  Italy  on  the  south 
was  given  to  Lothaire  with  the  title  of  emperor.  Germany 
was  assigned  to  Louis  the  German,  and  France,  to  Charles 
the  Bald.  In  875,  the  whole,  with  the. imperial  title,  came 
into  the  hands  of  Charles  the  Bald.  From  his  death  in 
877,  the  Carolingian  dynasty  broke  down.  The  German 
branch  of  it  became  extinct  in  912.  Conrad  of  Franconia 
was  elected  emperor,  but  died  in  918.  The  next  was  Henry 
the  Fowler  of  Saxony.  From  his  accession  in  919,  the 
western  empire,  as  a  German  power,  entered  a  new  career 
of  prosperity,  in  which  it  was  carried  forward  by  his  suc- 
cessors in  the  same  dynasty  until  1024,  when  it  passed 
again  into  the  house  of  Franconia,  beginning  with  Conrad 
II.,  followed  successively  by  Henry  III.,  and  Henry  IV, 
The  last  commenced  his  eventful  reign,  as  a  child  of  six 
years  old,  under  the  guardianship  of  his  mother,  in   1056. 

The  Saracens  from  Africa,  after  having  conquered 
Sicily  and  Naples,  were,  in  877,  threatening  Rome,  when 
the  death  of  Charles  the  Bald  deprived  the  Pope  of  his 
strongest  protector.  None  of  the  other  princes  were  in 
condition  to  help  him.  He  bought  the  safety  of  his  capital 
by  promise  of  tribute:  and  then  found  himself  in  the  hands 
of  refractory  Italian  princes.  He  took  refuge  in  France 
in  878. 

John  VIII.  died  in  882,  and  was  followed  for  nearly  a 
hundred  and  seventy  years,  by  a  series  of  popes,  of  whom, 
with  only  few  exceptions,  it  is  fair  to  say  that  whatever 
their  abilities  might  be,  they  were  less  conspicuous  than 
their  vices.  The  papal  office  became  an  object  of  political 
ambition,  to  which  the  elections  were  managed  by  parties 
among  the  Italian  nobles.  From  about  898,  if  not  earlier,, 
the  principal  power  was  wielded  by  certain  infamous  women 
of  high  rank,  and  by  their  descendants  and  kindred  for 
a  hundred  years.  Restraint  was  put  upon  their  power, 
occasionally,  by  the  interposition  of  the  emperors  Otho  I.,. 
Otho  II.,  Otho  III.,  from  964  to  998.  But  that  only  added 
to  the  disorder.  A  brief  interval  occurred  in  the  pontificate 
of  Gerbert  (Silvester  II.,)  a  good  man,  and  the  only  good' 
scholar  the  age  could  boast,  and  whom  it  could  not  under- 


105 

stand.  But  his  term  of  office,  from  999  to  1003,  was  too 
brief  to  apply  any  important  check  to  the  downward  career 
of  papal  history.  In  the  early  part  of  the  eleventh  century 
Rome  both  ecclesiastical  and  civil,  was  under  the  domina- 
tion of  the  noble  house  of  Tusculum,  a  branch  of  the 
flagitious  stock  to  whom  it  had  been  subject  in  the  tenth 
century.  So  low  had  the  papacy  descended,  that  men  were 
put  into  it  without  the  pretence  of  being  clergymen.  John 
XIX.,  a  layman  and  a  brother  of  the  count  of  Tusculum, 
was  carried  to  the  Papal  chair,  in  1024,  if  not  by  purchase, 
at  least  by  political  management  of  his  family.  He  was 
succeeded  in  1033  by  his  nephew,  Benedict  IX.,  also  a  lay- 
man, for  whom  the  papal  office  had  been  purchased  when 
he  was  but  a  boy  often  years.  The  dissolute  life  of  Bene- 
dict matched  the  scandalous  manner  of  his  election.  Rome 
endured  him  ten  years,  and  then  in  1044,  drove  him  from 
the  city,  and  set  up  Sylvester  III.  In  the  course  of  the 
strife  which  ensued,  Tusculum  prevailed  and  restored  Bene- 
dict. Sylvester  under  excommunication  betook  himself 
to  flight.  But  the  violence  of  parties  did  not  cease.  Bene- 
dict concluded  to  sell  his  office.  It  was  purchased  in  1046 
by  John  Gratian,  a  priest,  who  took  the  papal  name  of 
Gregory  VI.  Subsequently  Benedict  changed  his  mind, 
his  party  again  rallied  round  him.  and  enthroned  him  once 
more  in  the  Lateran  palace.  One  of  his  rivals,  Gregory, 
held  his  place  in  the  Cathedral  of  St.  Maria  Maggiore, 
while  the  other,  Sylvester,  retained  St.  Peter's  and  the 
Vatican.  The  streets  of  Rome  were  harassed  by  the 
deadly  strife  of  their  partisans. 

News  moved  slowly  in  those  days,  and  the  stolidity 
of  ignorant  superstition  took  long  time  to  accept  the  con- 
viction of  anything  wrong  in  the  papal  court.  But  it  was 
now  impossible  that  the  christian  public  could  be  ignorant 
of  such  a  scandalous  schism.  It  would  not  have  been  well 
for  the  church,  or  the  world  to  have  seen  the  papacy  sub- 
merged in  such  a  way  and  at  such  a  juncture.  The  emperor 
Henry  III.  came  from  Germany  to  restore  order,  and  ad- 
vanced to  Sutri,  where  he  called  a  council.  All  three 
popes  were  cited  to  appear.  Benedict  abdicated,  the  other 
two  were  deposed  ;  and  a  new  pope  was  elected  from  the 
German   clergy,  who  took  the  name   Clement  II.    Henry 


106 

then  marched  to  Rome  and  inducted  his  pope  into  the 
papal  throne,  with  the  apparent  consent  of  the  Roman 
clergy,  and  received,  for  himself  and  his  queen,  imperial 
coronation  at  his  hands. 

But  it  was  not  the  emperor  who  was  to  be  the  reformer 
of  the  papacy.  Clement's  attempt  to  reduce  the  irregular- 
ities of  bishops  and  other  clergy  utterly  failed;  his  council 
called  at  Rome  could  accomplish  nothing,  from  the 
gigantic  extent  of  the  evils.  His  pontificate  was  brief  He 
died  within  a  year.  Benedict  IX.  took  occasion  of  the  ab- 
sence of  any  higher  authority  to  renew  his  usurpation  once 
more,  and  maintained  it  nine  months.  A  new  party  in 
favor  of  imperial  interference,  united  in  an  application  to 
the  emperor  to  nominate  a  pope  to  his  own  judgment.  He 
sent  them  Poppo,  bishop  of  Brescia,  who  reigned  as  Damas- 
cus n.,  only  twenty  three  days.  Again  the  vacant  chair 
awaited  the  emperor's  nomination.  He  appointed  his  kins- 
man Bruno,  bishop  of  Toul,  a  man  of  learning  and  humble 
piety.  At  a  great  assembly  at  Worms,  in  presence  of  the 
delegates  from  Rome,  the  emperor  had  him  invested  with 
the  badges  of  Pontifical  office.  Thus  the  Papacy,  through 
necessities  imposed  by  its  own  corruptions,  was  coming 
distinctly  under  control  of  the  secular  power ;  and  so 
loosely  had  'the  elections  been  latterly  conducted  that  the 
secular  power  was  needed  to  give  them  some  regularity. 

It  was  at  that  juncture  that  one  of  the  most  extra- 
ordinary characters  of  the  middle  ages  appeared.  The 
newly  elected  Pope  was  encountered  at  Besancon,  on  his 
way  to  Italy,  by  a  young  monk  from  Cluny,  who  was 
destined  to  wield  a  more  than  imperial  influence  over  him. 
Hildebrand  was  a  native  of  Tuscany,  born  about  1020, 
educated  in  Rome,  and  afterwards  in  Cluny,  where  the 
monks  regarded  him  as  a  prodigy  of  gifts,  application  and 
sanctity.  His  education  was  entirely  monastic,  and  his 
ideas  of  papal  reform  were  drawn  from  the  monastery. 
About  the  age  of  twenty-four  he  returned  to  Rome,  at  the 
juncture,  when  the  strife  between  rival  popes  was  the 
fiercest,  and  attached  himself  to  Gregory  VI.  When  all 
three  popes  were  deposed,  Hildebrand  followed  .Gregory 
into  retirement,  and  after  his  death,  returned  for  a  short 
time  to  Cluny.     He  had  kept  himself  well  informed  of  the 


107 

course  of  events  in  Rome  ;  and  now  greatly  dissatisfied 
with  the  act  of  investiture  at  Worms,  he  presented  himself, 
in  company  with  Hugh  Abbot  of  Cluny,  to  the  Pope  elect 
at  Besan(,-on,  and  persuaded  him  to  consider  his  investiture 
by  imperial  authority  null.  Bruno  dismissed  his  papal 
equipage,  and  in  company  with  Hildebrand,  pursued  the 
rest  of  his  journey  in  the  manner  of  a  pilgrim.  At  Rome, 
he  submitted  to  election  by  the  clergy,  and  assumed  the 
papal  office,  as  Leo  IX.,  upon  purely  ecclesiastical  investi- 
ture. 

2.  Bishops  very  generally  disapproved  of  papal  inter- 
meddling with  the  domestic  affairs  of  their  dioceses.  From 
the  latter  part  of  the  ninth  century,  the  False  Decretals 
operated  to  bring  them  under  that  control.  Another 
means  was  perhaps  not  less  effective.  The  Popes  had  long 
been  in  the  habit  of  conferring  archiepiscopal  office  by 
giving  the  Pallium,  or  official  robe  ;  and  from  the  time  of 
Nicholas  I.,  (858 — 867)  that  had  been  given  only  on  con- 
dition of  the  receiver  taking  an  oath  of  obedience  to  the 
Romish  see.  According  to  one  of  the  titles  he  wore,  and 
the  doctrine  of  the  False  Decretals,  the  Pope  was  universal 
bishop.  It  was  by  the  common  people  that,  in  those  days, 
papal  claims  were  supported.  They,  with  a  superstitious 
reverence,  conceived  that  the  Pope  exercised  the  powers  of 
divine  law,  and  were  ready  to  submit  to  him,  rather  than 
to  any  authority,  which  they  deemed  merely  human. 

The  metropolitans,  or  archbishops  of  the  west,  gradu- 
ally brought  under  papal  dominion,  were  also  connected 
in  other  relations  with  the  civil  government.  In  the  tem- 
poralities of  their  sees,  they  were  involved  in  the  generally 
prevailing  feudal  system,  their  tenants  being  feudally 
dependant  on  them,  and  they  feudally  related  to  the  mon- 
arch. They  had  to  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  to  him,  and 
to  receive  from  him  investiture  in  their  estates  and  civil 
honors.  Thus  were  planted  the  seeds  of  quarrel  between 
the  royal  and  papal  authorities. 

It  inevitably  followed  that  numbers  of  ambitious  per- 
sons obtained  high  places  in  the  church  through  royal 
favor  or  political  manceuvring  or  by  money.  Inferior 
places  of  course  went  the  same  way;  and  simony  became 
a  prevailing  vice  of  the  clergy. 


108 

3-  The  ministrations  of  the  church  conducted  by  such 
men  had  ceased  to  contain  instruction.  Preaching  in  the 
parishes  was  almost  obsolete,  by  monks  only  occasional. 
The  service  was  in  Latin  ;  and  Latin  was  no  longer  spoken 
or  understood  by  the  people.  Religion  itself  became  a 
dead  language  to  the  greater  number — a  mere  system  of 
observances  and  repetition  of  chanted  or  mumbled  sounds. 

4.  The  monasteries,  in  which  piety  and  intelligence 
did  find  some  refuge,  were  always  difficult  to  regulate. 
Houses  on  the  system  of  Benedict,  after  many  fluctuations, 
before  the  beginning  of  the  tenth  century,  had  all  degen- 
erated. Monks  had  become  irregular,  idle  and  dissolute. 
As  a  measure  of  reform — the  only  reform  belonging  to  the 
tenth  century — the  convent  of  Cluny  was  founded  in  910 
by  William  of  Aquitaine.  The  rules  of  Benedict  were 
there  revived  and  some  were  added,  especially  by  the 
second  abbot  Odo,  who  by  the  strictness  of  his  discipline 
secured  for  his  convent  a  reputation  of  eminent  sanctity. 
After  its  example,  other  monasteries  were  founded  or 
reformed,  and  its  abbots  were  sometimes  invited  elsewhere 
for  that  purpose.  The  association  of  monasteries,  looking 
to  Cluny  as  their  exemplar,  was  spoken  of  as  the  Con- 
gregatio  Cliiniacensis,  and  its  abbots  sometimes,  as  arch- 
abbots.  Many  persons  who  were  not  monks  so  connected 
themselves  with  them  as  to  be  allowed,  according  to  the 
then  common  ideas,  a  "  share  in  the  spiritual  blessing  of 
the  brotherhood,"  and  were  called  Fratres  Conscripti,  or 
Confratres.  Cluny  was  assigned  to  the  immediate  care  of 
the  pope.  In  that  respect  also  many  other  monasteries 
followed  its  example. 

5.  The  reign  of  ignorance  and  superstition  continued. 
God  was  concealed  from  the  view  of  worshipers  by  a  mul- 
titute  of  saints  held  up  for  adoration  in  his  stead.  Every 
place  of  worship  was  supplied  with  their  relics,  which  were 
bought  and  sold  for  their  miraculous  virtues.  And  popular 
instruction,  consisted  almost  solely  of  legends  designed  to 
set  off  such  wares.  The  Virgin  Mary  was  honored  most 
of  all.  Saturday  was  set  apart  to  her,  and  a  daily  office 
introduced  in  her  worship. 

The   Lord  Jesus   Christ  was   not  entirely  left  out  of 
view,  but  together  with  other  persons  of  the  Godhead  was 


109 

put  at  a  great  distance  ofif,  when  he  was  not  represented  as 
a  child  or  a  corpse.  Access  to  him  as  God  was  held  to  be 
through  his  mother. 

In  doctrine,  the  church  still  professed  the  creed  of  the 
general  councils  ;  practically,  reliance  for  salvation  rested 
upon  good  works,  penance  and  the  intercession  of  the  Vir- 
gin Mary  and  the  saints.  By  good  works  were  understood 
works  of  mercy,  but  also,  to  a  great  extent,  acts  of  asce- 
ticism, or  of  attendance  on  formal  observances,  or  dona- 
tions to  the  church.  Penances  were  now  reduced  to  a  sys- 
tem, regulated  by  written  rules.  It  was  an  act  of  great 
merit  to  exceed  those  rules,  by  voluntary  infliction.  It  was 
now  practically  admitted  that  pardon  of  sin  could  be  grant- 
ed by  the  priest,  upon  confession  to  him,  and  compliance 
with  the  penance  imposed.  Excommunication,  as  a  means 
of  coercion,  now  reached  its  extreme  of  severity,  and  that 
sometimes  inflicted  by  the  most  godless  of  men,  as  means 
of  revenge. 

A  signal  confession  of  judicial  incapacity  was  implied 
in  trial  by  ordeal,  a  heathen  custom  introduced  from  Ger- 
many, and  now  superintended  by  the  clergy  ;  of  similar 
nature  was  that  of  trial  by  battle,  the  most  degenerate  ef- 
fects of  which  have  lasted  longest. 

One  institution  of  the  time  for  which  the  clergy  deserve 
credit  was  the  Truce  of  God,  an  attempt  to  put  some  check, 
though  only  partial  and  brief,  upon  the  prevalence  of  pri- 
vate wars. 

Popularly  it  was  believed  that  all  things  were  sinking 
towards  dissolution,  and  that  the  world  would  come  to  an 
end  in  the  year  looo  after  Christ. 

The  very  missionary  enterprises  of  the  time  partook  of 
its  wild  half  heathenish  character.  In  Norway  Christianity 
was  established  by  arms.  By  the  same  means  it  obtained 
the  mastery  in  Bohemia  and  was  forced  upon  the  Wends 
by  the  German  Empire,  upon  the  Hungarians  by  their 
Kings,  and  upon  the  Russians  by  their  Grand  Duke.  That 
the  gospel  of  Christ  survived  such  extravagant  misrepre- 
sentation is  almost  miraculous,  and  due  chiefly  to  the  pre- 
servation of  the  written  word,  and  the  fact  that  there  was 
always  a  faithful  remnant  true  to  the  spirit  of  its  instruc- 
tions. 


110 

6.  In  order  to  a  just  apprehension  of  the  church  in  the 
Middle  Ages,  it  is  important  to  distinguish  between  the 
church  and  the  hierarchy,  and  in  the  hierarchy  itself,  be- 
tween the  episcopal  authorities  and  the  papal. 

The  church  of  God  was  oppressed,  crushed  beneath 
the  weight  of  powers  which  had  assumed  to  govern  it, and 
were  making  their  gain  by  it ;  but  it  was  never  extinguish- 
ed. Prevented  from  demonstrating  itself  outwardly  in  any 
proper  organic  form,  it  existed  in  the  hearts  of  individuals 
and  in  their  spiritual  sympathy  and  understanding  with  one 
another,  in  as  far  as  they  had  any  knowledge  of  each  other's 
faith.  In  that  state  of  things  a  pious  clergyman  or  prince 
was  of  great  service  in  giving  centralization  to  some  ex- 
tent to  the  scattered  piety  of  the  christian  world.  The 
most  conspicuous  example  of  that  kind,  within  the  period 
of  which  we  are  now  speaking,  was  that  of  Alfred,  King 
of  England,  with  his  immediate  successors,  Edward  and 
Athelstane.  Alfred  was  king  from  871  to  900,  and  his  son 
and  grandson  successively  maintained  his  improvements 
until  940.  Subsequently  England  was  harassed  by  Dan- 
ish invasion,  under  which  state  and  church  alike  suffered  a 
new  and  deeper  depression,  until  all  England  came  under 
the  rule  of  the  Danish  king  Canute.  A  brief  attempt  at 
better  government  by  that  wise  monarch  was  followed  by 
new  disorders,  until  the  kingdom  was  overwhelmed  by  the 
Norman  conquest,  in  1066. 

7.  In  the  same  year  in  which  Leo  IX.  died,  1054,  all 
intercourse  between  the  eastern  and  western  catholic 
churches  came  to  an  end.  A  letter  from  the  patriarch  of 
Constantinople  to  a  friend,  commenting  on  the  errors  and 
abuses  of  the  west,  was  responded  to  with  great  bitterness. 
Papal  delegates  were  sent  to  Constantinople  who  attempted 
to  treat  the  Patriarch  as  a  subject  of  the  Pope.  Their  pre- 
tensions were  not  allowed.  They  laid  an  act  of  excom- 
munication upon  the  great  altar  of  St.  Sophia,  to  which 
the  Patriarch  responded  with  an  anathema.  And  thus,  on 
the  16th  of  July,  1054,  the  two  great  hierarchs  parted  for- 
ever. 

8.  It  was  at  the  same  juncture,  when  the  Popes 
entirely  separated  from  the  eastern  church,  that  they  began 


Ill 

to  adopt  those  measures  of  policy  which  eventuated  in 
maturing  the  Papal  system,  and  in  carrying  it  to  a  real 
domination  over  the  west. 


VII.     1054— 1305. 

The  Summit  of  Papal  Prosperity. 

Upon  the  death  of  Leo  IX.,  Hildebrand  first  under- 
took to  manage  the  papal   elections.      The  policy   of  his 
adoption  continued,  in  the  main,  successful  until  the  quarrel 
of  Boniface  VIII.  with  the  King  of  France,  which  issued 
in   removal   of  the  papal   residence  to  Avignon,  in    1 305.  /\ 
The  interval  is  a  true  historical  period  possessing  features 
of  its   own,   to   be  found  nowhere  else.      It   presents   the 
maturity  of  the   Papacy,  within   which   that   system  exer- 
cised the  highest  and  widest  authority  it  vyas  ever  permitted 
to  wield.    Secondly,  it  was  the  time  of  controversy  between--^ 
the  German  Emperors  and  the  Popes.    A  third  feature  was 
the  scholastic   theology ;    a   fourth   the    Crusades ;    and   ^^ 
fifth,  the  progressive  quickening  of  intellect,  as  manifestedL^-^ 
in  the  increase  of  dissenting  religious  sects,  incipiency  of  ^^ 
popular  song,  and  rise  and  progress  of  schools   and   uni- 
versities. 

I.  During  the  pontificate  of  Leo  IX.,  Hildebrand,  now 
a  cardinal  subdeacon,  improved  every  opportunity  to  in- 
crease his  influence;  and  succeeded  in  putting  himself  at 
the  head  of  a  party  seeking  to  correct  abuses  in  the  church, 
which  had  long  been  found  incorrigible.  Three  objects  he 
had  in  view ;  first  the  removal  of  Simony,  and  lay  interfer- 
ence in  church  matters  ;  second,  to  repress  the  immorality 
of  the  clergy,  and  third  to  bind  all  the  elements  of  the  papacy 
into  such  a  system  as  to  realize  the  supremacy  to  which  it 
aspired.  A  grand  conception  that  of  a  dominion  con- 
structed, by  means  of  a  perfectly  organized  hierarchy,  upon 
the  basis  of  religion  and  morals,  and  subordinating  to  itself 
all  the  other  powers  and  dignities  of  earth,  but  it  had  only 
a  political  relation  to  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  It  was  not 
entirely  new.  It  had  certainly  been  entertained  by  some 
of  the  gifted  popes  of  the  ninth  century.  But  Hildebrand 
recognized  and  retrieved  its  elements  from  the  degradation 


112 

to  which  they  had  been  reduced  in  a  long  career  of  papal 
profligacy,  and  reconstructed  them,  under  the  most  favor- 
able circumstances,  with  the  greatest  effect. 

Execution  of  the  design  began  with  enforcing  the 
celibacy  of  the  clergy  ;  ^nd  much  to  that  end  was  done  by 
Leo  IX.:  but  the  pivot  of  the  whole  was  in  the  papal  elec- 
tions, which  Hildebrand  never  suffered  to  escape  from  his 
control.  By  application  to  the  emperor  he  obtained  the 
appointment  of  the  candidate  of  his  choice  as  successor  to 
Leo.  Gebhart  bishop  of  Eichstadt,  an  influential  counsellor 
of  the  emperor,  and  centre  of  an  antipapal  party  in  the 
north,  was  a  manifold  gain  to  the  cause  of  papal  reform. 
He  assumed  the  name  of  Victor  IL,  and  continued  in  office 
until  his  death  in  1057.  Meanwhile  in  1056  the  Emperor 
Henry  III.  died,  leaving  the  heir  of  his  house,  a  child  of 
.six  years,  under  the  regency  of  the  Empress.  In  those 
circumstances,  the  reforming  party  had  no  difficulty  in 
electing  their  own  candidate,  who  took  the  name  Stephen 
IX.  During  Hildebrand's  absence  from  Rome,  Stephen 
died;  and  the  opposite  party  elected  Benedict  X.  Hilde- 
brand, on  his.  return  succeeded  in  reversing  that  action,  and 
in  setting  up  Nicholas  II.  Under  Nicholas,  in  1059,  a  law 
was  enacted  to  regulate  papal  elections,  ordaining  that  the 
pope  should  be  elected  from  the  cardinals,  and  by  the  col- 
lege of  cardinals.  At  this  juncture  the  reforming  party 
secured  the  support  of  the  Normans,  who  had  recently 
taken  possession  of  Naples  and  Sicily. 

When  Nicholas  II.  died,  in  106 1,  the  pope  elected  by 
the  opposing  party  with  the  sanction  of  the  empress  was 
constrained  to  give  place  to  Alexander  II.  elected  by  the 
cardinals  alone.  In  1073,  after  the  death  of  Alexander,  the 
choice  of  the  cardinals  fell  upon  Hildebrand  who  took  the 
name  Gregory  VII.  The  young  emperor  Henry  IV.  was 
now  on  the  throne.  Pope  Alexander  had  excommunicated 
some  of  the  imperial  counsellors,  and  demanded  their  re- 
moval from  court.  But  they  had  been  retained  in  favor. 
Hildebrand  took  up  the  cause,  and  called  upon  the  emperor 
to  comply  with  the  papal  demand.  Henry,  at  the  first 
admonition,  was  engaged  in  war,  and  replied  by  a  submis- 
sive letter.     And  so  the  matter  rested  for  that  time. 

But  the  authority  assumed  by  the  new  pope  was  such 
as  upon  being  more  fully  unfolded,  the  emperor  perceived 


113 

he  could  not  allow.  The  policy  of  Gregory  VII.,  not  de- 
clared all  at  once,  but  evinced  in  the  course  of  his  pontifi- 
cate, and  abundantly  stated  in  his  epistles,  and  succinctly 
epitomized  in  the  Dictatus  Gregorii,  aimed  at  establishing 
the  Papacy  as  supreme  over  all  the  powers  and  potentates 
of  earth,  ecclesiastical  and  civil,  and  arrogated  for  it,  the 
profession  of  homage  by  acts  the  most  abject  and  degrad- 
ing. But  the  office,  during  the  twenty  years  of  his  preced- 
ing counsels,  had  gained  immensely  by  the  removal  of 
moral  corruption,  by  the  systematizing  of  its  business,  by 
the  dignified  regularity  of  elections,  and  frequent  and  con- 
sistent assertion  of  its  sovereignty  before  a  public  well  pre- 
pared to  admit  it.  The  subjection  of  the  clergy,  on  the 
footing  of  celibacy,  and  isolation  from  the  common  interests 
of  society,  had  been,  in  the  main,  effected.  And  the  Re- 
former was  now  prepared  to  enter  upon  the  third  part  of 
his  project,  namely  the  removal  of  simony,  and  of  lay  in- 
terference in  the  church.  To  achieve  that,  he  must  begin 
with  the  source  from  which  the  widely  ramified  evil  pro- 
ceeded, at  the  court  of  the  emperor,  and  with  the  case  of 
episcopal  investiture. 

His  excommunicated  counsellors  the  emperor  had  failed 
to  remove  /rom  his  service.     Two  years  had  elapsed. 

Meanwhile  at  a  Synod  in  Rome  (1075,)  it  was  decreed 
that  if  any  person  should  accept  a  bishopric,  or  an  abbacy 
from  the  hands  of  a  layman,  he  should  not  be  regarded  as 
a  bishop  or  an  abbot,  nor  allowed  to  enter  a  church,  until 
he  had  given  up  the  illegal  claim  :  and  all  laymen  of  what- 
ever rank,  who  should  bestow  such  investiture,  were  to  be 
excluded  from  church  communion.  Next  year  Gregory 
summoned  the  emperor  to  appear  before  him  in  Rome,  on 
pain  of  anathema,  if  he  failed  to  obey.  He  did  not  obey, 
but  on  the  contrary,  called  a  council  of  German  bishops 
at  Worms,  and  had  a  sentence  of  deposition  passed  against 
the  pope.  Gregory  forthwith  issued  his  excommunication 
of  the  emperor,  declaring  him  incompetent  to  reign  any 
longer,  and  forbade  his  subjects  to  obey  him.  He  also  ex- 
communicated the  assembly  at  Worms.  The  subjects  of 
the  emperor  were  divided.  The  princes  met  at  Tribur, 
and  appointed  a  council,  for  consideration  of  the  case,  to 
meet  at  Augsburg,  in  which  the  pope  was  to  preside  and 


114 

give  the  final  decision.  They  also  resolved  that  Henry 
should  remain  suspended  from  office  until  the  removal  of 
the  excommunication,  and  if  it  were  not  removed  within  a 
year  that  he  should  be  incapable  of  reigning  forever. 
Henry  hurried  over  the  Alps  in  midwinter,  and  met  the 
pope  at  Canossa,  but  obtained  admittance  to  his  presence 
only  after  a  most  humiliating  penance  of  three  days  before 
the  door  of  the  castle.  He  received  absolution  and  remis- 
sion of  his  punishment,  and  then,  once  more  emperor, 
thought  of  revenge  for  his  humiliation.  The  pope  was  now 
in  danger.  His  party  in  Germany  elected  a  new  emperor, 
Rudolph  of  Suabia.  War  ensued,  which  lasted  many  years. 
The  pope  renewed  the  excommunication.  The  emperor 
renewed  his  act  of  deposing  the  pope,  and  to  that  added 
the  election  of  another  pope,  Clement  HI.,  whom  he  took 
to  Rome,  and  enthroned  by  force  of  arms.  Meanwhile 
Rudolph  died.  The  full  weight  of  the  imperial  arm  now 
fell  upon  the  pope,  who  found  refuge  among  the  Normans 
of  Naples,  and  died  at  Salerno,  May  25,  1085.  Thus  the 
first  attempt  at  coercing  the  emperor  failed. 

Pope  Clement  HI.  reigned  in  Rome.  But  the  Gre- 
gorian party  elected  their  own  pope,  Victor  HI.,  and  when 
he  died,  in  1087,  continued  the  succession  by  electing 
Urban  II.  For  more  than  ten  years  the  emperor  retained 
his  advantage,  and  the  Gregorian  party  remained  under 
depression,  until  the  enthusiasm  of  the  first  Crusade  swept 
everything  before  it.  Of  that  movement,  though  Peter 
the  Hermit  was  the  preacher.  Urban  was  the  organizing 
power.  On  its  tide  he  was  carried  to  Rome  in  triumph. 
Military  resources  were  withdrawn  from  the  emperor  by 
the  irresistible  attraction  of  the  Crusade.  Pope  Clement 
unsustained  ceased  to  be  of  any  importance.  He  survived 
his  rival  a  few  months,  but  in  such  reduced  circumstances 
of  his  party  that  upon  his  death  no  successor  could  take 
his  place.  The  first  Crusade  was  the  real  triumph  of  Hilde- 
brand.  From  that  juncture  the  fortunes  of  Henry  IV. 
declined.  Urban  H.  died  July  29,  1099,  j^^^  fourteen 
days  after  the  Crusaders  had  entered  Jerusalem.  But  his 
successor,  Pascal  11. ,  pursued  the  same  policy.  The  ent- 
peror,  reduced  in  resources,  was  persecuted  with  ana- 
themas, his  son  encouraged  to  rebel  against  him,  and  his 


115 

subjects  to  revolt,  until  broken  down  in  health  and  spirit, 
he  retired  to  private  life,  and  died  in  poverty,  i  io6. 

The  same  year,  the  controversy  about  investitures  in 
England  was  settled  by  the  pope  giving  his  sanction  to  the 
practice  of  churchmen  in  possession  of  benefices,  taking 
the  oath  of  fealty  to  the  king. 

In  the  history  of  the  papacy,  the  next  two  hundred 
years  were  occupied  with  a  struggle  to  maintain  that  eleva- 
tion of  supremacy  secured  in  the  end  of  the  eleventh.  In 
some  quarters  it  was  held  with  great  difficulty ;  in  others 
it  was  increased  ;  sometimes  the  pope  seemed  on  the  verge 
of  failure;  for  his  supremacy  over  the  state  was,  even  in  its 
best  days,  of  precarious  tenure  ;  but  some  favorable  event 
always  turned  up  to  restore  him  to  his  vantage  ground; 
and  in  the  last  emergency,  his  refuge  was  in  popular  super- 
stition and  commotion,  especially  a  crusade,  in  which  he 
was  always  looked  to  by  western  Europe  as  the  head  of 
Christendom.  The  question  of  investitures  was  settled 
with  the  empire,  1122,  by  a  compromise,  in  which  the 
monarch  invested  with  the  temporalities,  and  the  pope  with 
the  spiritual  office,  and   symbols  were  chosen  accordingly. 

With  the  death  of  Henry  V.,  in  1125,  the  imperial 
dynasty  of  Franconia  came  to  an  end.  Lothaire  of  Saxony 
was  elected  in  the  papal  interest.  During  his  reign  the 
papacy  enjoyed  the  full  support  of  the  civil  power,  but  was 
divided  by  a  schism  within  itself  most  of  the  time.  Lo- 
thaire III.  died  in  1 137,  and  the  new  and  more  potent 
dynasty  of  the  Hohenstaufen,  the  ducal  line  of  Suabia,  came 
to  the  throne  in  the  person  of  Conrad  III.  In  the  interest 
of  that  imperial  house,  a  party  was  formed,  which  received 
the  name  Waibelingen,  or  Ghibelline,  opposed  to  the 
Guelphs,  or  Saxon  party,  which  sustained  the  pope.  For 
ages  these  two  factions  divided  the  politics  of  Italy  and 
the  empire. 

Arnold  of  Brescia,  a  young  priest,  had  come  from 
study  of  Scripture  to  the  conviction  that  the  clergy 
should  hold  no  estate  ;  but  live  upon  the  free  will  offer- 
ings of  the  church ;  and  that  priests  of  corrupt  morals 
were  by  that  fact  no  longer  priests  at  all.  Some  of  his 
views  accorded  with  the  efforts  at  that  time  made  by 
some    Italian    cities   to    secure   their   independence,    and 


116 

were  accepted  very  extensively.  Arnold  was  condemned 
by  the  Lateran  council  of  1139.  But  his  opinions  pre- 
vailed with  a  great  majority  of  the  people  in  Rome.  A 
revolution  was  contemplated,  in  which  the  temporal  sover- 
eignty of  the  pope  was  to  be  abolished,  and  the  ancient  re- 
publican government  restored.  The  insurgents  occupied 
the  Capitol.  Pope  Lucius  II.  was  killed  in  the  attempt  to 
reduce  them  by  force.  His  successor  Eugenius  III.  fled 
from  the  city,  and  awaited  some  favorable  turn  of  affairs. 
He  had  not  long  to  wait.  The  Kingdom  of  Jerusalem,  hard 
pressed  by  the  Saracens,  who  had  taken  the  city  of  Edessa, 
was  calling  aloud  to  Europe  for  relief  By  the  preaching  of 
Bernard  of  Clairvaux,  and  others,  the  crusading  frenzy  was 
aroused  once  more.  A  vast  army  was  marched  off  to 
Palestine  in  1 147,  under  command  of  the  Emperor  Conrad 
III.,  and  King  Louis  VII.  of  France.  Inferior  interests 
lost  their  hold  upon  the  public  mind.  Zeal  for  the  crusade 
absorbed  all.  Once  more  the  Pope  was  the  highest  dig- 
nitary in  Europe.  Eugenius  was  restored  to  Rome  and 
protected  by  the  arms  of  Roger  of  Sicily.  The  second 
crusade  failed  in  the  east ;  but  it  buoyed  up  the  papal  cause 
at  home.  By  the  address  of  Adrian  IV  ,  who  came  to  the 
papal  chair  in  11 54,  the  Romans  were  induced  to  banish 
Arnold.  The  Emperor  Frederic  Barbarossa  marched  an 
army  into  the  north  of  Italy  and  reduced  the  Lombard 
towns.  Arnold  was  surrendered  into  his  hands,  and  by 
him  transferred  to  the  pope.  The  pope  hanged  him,  burned 
his  body,  and  cast  the  ashes  into  the  Tiber.  Arnold  was 
the  victim,  over  whose  immolation  the  Emperor  and  the 
Pope  held  a  common  rejoicing  and  for  the  time  reconciled 
their  differences. 

It  was  Pope  Adrian  IV.,  who  in  1 155  granted  to  Henry 
II.  of  England  to  conquer  Ireland,  on  the  condition  of  an- 
nexing it  to  the  Roman  See.  A  few  years  later,  a  papal 
attempt  to  make  the  clergy  of  England  independent  of  the 
crown  to  connect  them  more  intimately  with  Rome,  gave 
occasion  to  the  meeting  at  Clarendon,  in  1164,  which  drew 
up  the  celebrated  Clarendon  Constitutions,  one  of  the  oldest 
documents  lying  at  the  basis  of  English  freedom.  The 
articles  were  sixteen,  designed  to  limit  Papal  aggressions, 
and  make  the  clergy  amenable,  in  some    degree,  like  other 


117 

men,  to  laws  of  the  land.  Becket  the  archbishop  of  Can- 
terbury, and  the  whole  body  of  the  English  clergy,  gave 
solemn  assent  to  them.  But  the  articles  being  condemned 
by  the  Pope,  Becket  changed  his  mind  broke  his  pledge  to 
his  country  to  keep  the  favor  of  Rome.  His  subsequent 
conduct  was  that  of  rebellion  against  the  king,  and  directed 
to  sustain  papalism  in  England.  It  led  to  a  dispute  between 
him  and  the  king  in  which  he  fled  to  the  continent.  A 
reconciliation  took  place.  But  after  restoration,  Becket 
returned  to  his  former  practices.  Four  English  knights, 
hearing  the  king  express  himself  angrily  about  the  matter, 
went  to  Canterbury  and  slew  Becket  while  seeking  sanctuary 
in  church.  (1170).  The  king  was  blamed,  and  four  years 
later  was  constrained  to  do  penance  at  Becket's  tomb. 

Within  the  12th  century,  the  free  churches  of  Ireland 
and  Scotland  were  brought  under  subjection  to  Rome,  that 
of  Scotland  by  its  own  Celto-Saxon  dynasty,  between  1093 
and  1 153,  and  that  of  Ireland  by  the  English  conquest  begun 
in  1 171  ;  and,  in  the  next  century,  1282,  the  last  stronghold, 
of  the  old  British  church  in  Wales  was  similarly  reduced. 

In  1 183,  the  Emperor  Frederic  Barbarossa  made  peace 
with  the  Lombards,  secured  the  favor  of  the  German  clergy, 
and  by  the  marriage  of  his  son  to  the  heiress  of  Sicily,  at- 
tached that  wealthy  island  to  his  dynasty.  The  strength 
of  the  papal  support  was  seriously  diminished,  while  insur- 
rection raged  within  the  papal  estates.  Lucius  III.  and 
Urban  III.,  were  successively  expelled  from  Rome. 

But  again  the  papacy  was  saved  by  a  crusade.  Sala- 
din  had  taken  Jerusalem,  (i  187,)  and  all  Europe  was  roused 
to  a  new  effort  for  recovery  of  the  holy  places.  The  Em- 
peror put  himself  at  the  head  of  it,  May,  1 189,  advancing 
by  land.  He  lost  his  life  on  the  march,  and  his  army  per- 
ished at  the  seige  of  Acre.  Two  other  portions  of  the 
great  army  were  led  by  Philip  Augustus  of  France,  and 
Richard  I.  of  England.  With  all  the  armies  led  out,  and 
prodigies  of  valor,  on  the  part  of  the  crusaders,  little  was 
effected.  Philip  Augustus,  soon  after  the  seige  of  Acre, 
returned  home;  and  Richard,  after  taking  Joppa  and  Askelon, 
learning  that  the  King  of  France  was  projecting  an  invasion 
of  England,  concluded  a  peace  of  three  years  with  Saladin, 
and  left  Palestine,  Sept.  [192.     Meanwhile  the  Pope  had  re- 


118 

established  his  authority  in  Rome,  and  the  early  death  of 
the  new  emperor,  Henry  VI.,  removed  the  danger  threaten- 
ing from  his  possession  of  Sicily  in  right  of  his  wife.  The 
heir  of  the  imperial  house  was  a  child  only  three  years 
of  age,  when  the  most  successful  of  all  popes  began  his 
pontificate.  Henry  VI.  died  Sept.  28,  1 197,  and  on  the  8th 
of  January  following.  Innocent  III.  ascended  the  chair  of 
the  papacy. 

Circumstances  favored  the  new  pope  in  a  remarkable 
manner.  Rome  had  been  pacified.  The  death  of  the  em- 
peror gave  place  to  a  long  contested  succession,  the  empress 
Constantia,  heiress  of  Sicily,  to  secure  that  dominion  for 
her  son,  accepted  investiture  from  the  Pope,  and  on  the  eve 
of  her  death,  which  took  place  before  the  end  of  1 198, 
constituted  him  guardian  of  the  infant  prince,  while  both 
France  and  England  were  enfeebled  by  the  crusade,  and  by 
mutually  threatened  war.  No  other  pontiff  ever  realized 
to  the  same  extent  the  Gregorian  idea  of  the  papacy. 
King  John  of  England  who  attempted  to  disregard  his 
mandate,  was  brought  to  submission  by  an  interdict  laid 
upon  his  kingdom,  and  was  restored  only  upon  accepting 
his  crown  as  a  gift  of  the  pope,  and  recognizing  England 
as  a  province  of  the  Roman  See,  and  subject  to  a  papal 
tribute.  This  led  to  the  meeting  of  the  barons  at  Runnymede, 
1215,  and  the  drawing  up  of  the  Magna  Charta,  which  they 
compelled  their  unworthy  king  to  grant,  as  some  security 
then  and  afterward  against  such  alienation  of  themselves 
and  their  country. 

Innocent  III.  also  organized  a  crusade.  It  never 
reached  Palestine,  but  instead  of  that,  beseiged  and  took 
Constantinople,  in  1204,  and  set  up  there  a  Latin  King. 
Whereupon  the  pope  asserted  his  jurisdiction  in  the  eastern 
empire,  but  without  obtaining  acknowledgment  by  the  Greek 
church.  The  most  successful  crusade  of  Innocent  III.  was 
that  against  the  Albigenses,  a  numerous  dissenting  sect,  in 
the  south  of  France.  Romish  arguments  failing  to  convince 
them,  armies  were  marched  into  their  country,  which  in 
successive  years,  from  1209,  covered  it  with  slaughter  and 
desolation. 

In  1215,  Innocent  called  a  council  in  Rome,  the  fourth 
Lateran,  or,  according  to   Romish  reckoning,  the  twelfth 


119 

ecumenical,  at  which  various  important  questions  pertaining 
to  Romish  doctrine  and  practice  were  authoritatively  set- 
tled. At  that  point  Papalism  reached  the  apex  of  its  pros- 
perity. Innocent  died  next  year,  but  where  he  left  it  the 
elevation  of  success  remained  stationary  through  all  the 
reign  of  his  successor,  Honorius  III.,  that  is  until  1227. 
The  imperious  temper  of  Gregory  IX.,  renewed  the  vexa- 
tious quarrel  with  the  empire,  and  led  the  way  in  a  course 
of  policy  which  ultimately  reduced  it,  but  also  dragged  into 
humiliation  his  own  office. 

Frederic  II.,  son  of  Henry  VI.,  was  constained  to  un- 
dertake a  crusade.  Because  he  delayed  in  carrying  it  out 
Gregory  excommunicated  him,  and  after  he  set  out  fol- 
lowed him  with  excommunication.  Frederic  was  suc- 
cessful, recaptured  Jerusalem,  and  secured  a  treaty  of  peace 
for  the  christians  of  Palestine  for  ten  years  ;  but  found,  on 
returning  home,  that  he  had  to  wage  war  with  the  Pope. 
It  was  now  the  papal  purpose  to  break  down  the  Suabian 
dynasty,  and  secure  the  election  of  more  compliant  occu- 
pants of  the  imperial  throne.  Unrelentingly  was  that  policy 
pursued  until,  after  the  early  death  of  Frederic's  successor, 
Conrad,  in  1254,  another  minority  and  regency  occurred. 
Advantage  was  taken  of  that  juncture  to  invite  Charles  of 
Anjou  to  assume  possession  of  Sicily.  The  attempt  of  the 
young  Conradin  to  defend  his  father's  dominion  failed. 
And  the  last  heir  of  the  Hohenstaufen  taken  prisoner  per- 
ished on  the  scaffold,  (1268),  and  Charles  of  Anjou,  brother 
of  Louis  IX,  of  France,  became  king  of  Sicily  in  the  papal 
interest.  Five  years  later,  the  equally  papal  house  of 
Hapsburg  was  elevated  to  the  throne  of  the  greatly  reduced 
empire,  in  the  person  of  Rudolph. 

But  already  the  long  train  of  papal  losses  had  begun. 
In  1 26 1,  the  Greeks,  under  Michael  Palaeologus,  recovered 
possession  of  Constantinople  and  expelled  the  Latin  gov- 
ernment. A  subsequent  attempt,  at  the  council  of  Lyons, 
1274,  to  reunite  the  Greek  and  Roman  churches,  and  es- 
tablish papal  jurisdiction  in  the  east,  was  agreed  to  by  the 
eastern  emperor,  but  defeated  by  refusal  of  the  Greek  Church 
to  comply.  The  attempt  gave  rise  to  other  fabrications  in 
support  of  the  Papacy. 

French  rule  in  Sicily  proved  intensely  unpopular.  It 
was  expelled  by  the  insurrection,  called  the  Sicilian  Ves- 


120 

pers,   March    30,  1282,  and  the  government  put   into  the 
hands  of  the  King  of  Aragon. 

The  seventh  and  last  crusade  to  Palestine  was  led  by 
Louis  IX.  of  France  and  Prince  Edward  of  England,  in  . 
1270.  Louis  died  at  Tunis.  Edward  reached  Palestine, 
but  could  only  delay  the  fate  of  Acre,  by  extorting  a  truce 
of  three  years.  In  1291  Acre  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
Mohammedans,  and  the  whole  was  over. 

The  crusades  were  the  wars  of  the  Papacy  for  its  own 
cause,  when  that  cause  was  identified  with  the  interests  of 
Christianity  in  the  west.  Their  termination  was  not  only 
the  loss  of  an  effective  weapon,  but  also  a  symptom  of  de- 
clining influence  over  the  christian  public. 

But  a  more  serious  calamity  befel  the  Papacy  in  the 
dispute  which  arose  between  Boniface  VIII.  and  Philip  the 
fair,  King  of  France,  in  which  the  King,  on  principles  of 
law,  resisted  a  Papal  mandate,  and  when  the  Pope  attempted 
to  enforce  it,  sent  a  commission  into  Italy,  which  arrested 
him.  The  indignity  so  affected  Boniface  as  to  throw  him 
into  a  fever,  of  which  he  died  Oct.  11,  1303.  The  next 
Pontiff,  Benedict  XL,  did  not  press  the  offensive  demands  ; 
and  after  his  death.  King  Philip  succeeded  in  getting  his 
own  candidate  elected  who  was  pledged  to  remain  in  France. 
Clement  V.  took  up  his  residence  at  Avignon,  in  1305. 
And  the  proudest  days  of  the  papacy  were  ended. 

In  the  Papal  history  of  this  period  there  was  more 
concerned  than  superstition  and  submission,  on  one  hand, 
and  ambition  on  the  other.  Earnest  christian  faith  in 
the  church  was  the  foundation,  with  a  great  amount  of 
rubblestone  credulity  mixed  in.  On  the  part  of  the  rulers, 
there  was  extraordinary  intellectual  power,  some  real  piety 
no  doubt,  but  also  an  unscrupulous  use  of  both  force  and 
fraud,  and  that  continued  with  little  abatement,  or  excep- 
tion, for  two  hundred  and  fifty  years.  The  series  of  events 
may  be  comprehended  under  the  following  heads. 

1.  Reform  and  reorganization  of  the  Papacy,  1054 — 
1085. 

2.  Its  first  success,  in  war  with  the  Empire,  by  means 
of  the  first  crusade,  1099. 

3.  Its  success  in  the  controversy  about  investitures, 
1 122. 


121 

4-  A  long  period  of  power  balanced  between  the  rising 
free  spirit  of  Northern  Italy,  the  Normans  of  the  South,  and 
the  German  empire,  sustained  at  great  junctures  by  the 
second  and  third  crusades,  until  1198. 

5.  The  summit  of  success  under  Innocent  III.  and 
Honorius  III.,  1 198-1227. 

6.  The  strife  for  supreme  temporal  power  with  the  im- 
perial dynasty  of  Suabia,  until  the  overthrow  of  the  latter, 
and  elevation  of  the  obedient  house  of  Hapsburg,  1227- 
1273. 

7.  Papal  losses — loss  of  Constantinople,  1261. 
Failure  of  the   plan   of  union  devised  at  the   council  of 

Lyons,  1274-1282. 
Loss  ensuing  from  the  Sicilian  Vespers,  1282. 
Final  failure  of  the  Crusades,  1291. 
The   disastrous  controversy  with    Philip   the  Fair,  ending 

in  the  removal  from  Rome,  130=;. 

2.  With  the  schools  founded  and  patronized  by 
Charlemagne,  there  were  always  connected  some  men  of 
letters.  During  the  tenth  century,  and  first  half  of  the 
eleventh  the  series  was  very  slender.  Through  Erigena, 
Gottschalk,  Paschasius  Radbert,  and  a  few  others,  in  the 
middle  of  the  ninth  century,  Hincmar  and  Ratramus,  in  the 
latter  part  of  it,  the  line  is  barely  continued  by  a  few  such 
men  as  Luitprand  of  Cremona,  and  Ratherius  of  Verona, 
to  Gerbert,  (Pope  Sylvester  II.,)  who  died  in  the  beginning 
of  the  eleventh  century,  and  Fulbert  of  Chartres,  who 
flourished  in  its  first  quarter.  Towards  the  middle  of  the 
century,  a  little  more  literary  effort  began  to  appear.  Then 
we  read  of  Humbert,  Peter  Damiani,  Lanfranc,  Berengarius, 
and  Hildebrand,  (Pope  Gregory  VII.,)  in  the  course  of 
whose  lives  we  come  to  that  class  of  writers  called  school- 
men, or  scholastics,  who  were,  at  the  same  time,  the  phil- 
osophers and  theologians  of  the  Middle  ages. 

True  scholasticism  was  the  application  of  deductive 
logic  with  a  peculiar  subtlety  to  the  dogmas  of  the  Romish 
church.  Earlier  christian  writers  had  drawn  their  philosophy 
chiefly  from  Plato ;  now  the  Platonic  elements  were  com- 
prehended in  and  subjected  to  Aristotelian  method,  as  far 


122 

as  the  latter  was  known  through  the  partial  translation  of  Boe- 
thius :  for  Aristotelian  induction  seems  to  have  been  unknown. 

Augustinian  theology  was  their  recognized  orthodoxy. 
But  the  practical  teaching  of  the  church,  which,  on  some 
points  had  departed  from  that  standard,  controlled  in  gen- 
eral, the  line  of  argument.  Some  doctrines  advanced  were 
condemned  as  heretical,  but  in  the  main,  scholastics  were 
the  advocates  of  the  church  as  it  then  stood. 

The  history  of  that  class  of  writers  begins  properly 
in  the  course  of  controversy  on  the  Eucharist,  in  the  latter 
half  of  the  eleventh  century.  At  that  date,  a  zealous  oppo- 
nent of  transubstantiation  was  Berengarius  of  Tours.  The 
subject  was  still  an  open  question,  in  as  far  as  any  adequate 
authority  was  concerned.  It  had  been  decided  only  by 
popular  consent.  Berengarius,  from  about  1045,  publicly 
taught  that  the  bread  and  wine  in  the  Eucharist  are  only 
external  signs  of  Christ's  body  and  blood.  His  argument 
was  immediately  controverted  by  several  writers,  who  advo- 
cated the  popular  belief  that  in  consecration  by  the  priest, 
the  sacramental  elements  become  the  real  body  and  blood 
of  the  Lord.  Berengarius  was  condemned  repeatedly  by 
councils  at  Rome,  Vercelli,  Paris,  Tours  and  elsewhere. 
While  the  question  was  hotly  agitated  in  France,  Pope 
Victor  II.  had  other  occasion  to  send  legates  to  Tours. 
One  of  his  legates  was  Hildebrand,  who  induced  a  council 
in  that  city  to  treat  the  subject  leniently.  But  the  clergy 
as  a  whole  were  not  satisfied.  Berengarius  was  finally 
brought  to  trial  before  a  council  at  Rome,  where  a  definite 
statement  of  doctrine  was  prescribed  for  him  to  sign.  He 
submitted,  and  afterward,  although  he  repented  of  the  submis- 
sion, the  favor  of  the  pope  did  not  suffer  him  to  be  further 
molested.     He  died  in  1088. 

It  was  in  this  controversy  that  Lanfranc,  prior  of  Bee, 
and  subsequently  archbishop  of  Canterbury,  taking  up  the 
defence  of  transubstantiation,  employed  that  style  of  dia- 
lectics, which  was  carried  so  much  further  by  a  long  array 
of  writers  who  came  after  him.  In  the  hands  of  Anselm, 
his  immediate  successor  in  Canterbury,  1093 — 1109,  it 
reached  its  early  maturity  and  perhaps  its  best. 

The  history  of  scholasticism  divides  itself  into  three 
periods:  from  1045  to  1 164,  from    1 164  to  1308,  and   from 


M^^ 


123 

1308  until  the  eve  of  the  reformation.  The  first,  from  the 
beginning  of  the  controversy  with  Berengarius,  until  the 
death  of  Peter  Lombard,  1 164,  labored  in  lectures  and  con- 
troversial tracts.  A  new  period  opened  in  the  very  general 
adoption  of  Peter  Lombard's  Book  of  Sentences  as  a  guide 
for  lecturers,  whereby  scholasticism  was  turned  to  syste- 
matic treatment  of  the  whole  body  of  theology.  In  that 
direction  its  highest  results  were  reached  in  the  works  of 
Thomas  Aquinas,  and  Duns  Scotus.  With  the  death  of 
the  latter,  1308,  begins  the  period  of  scholastic  decline, 
during  which  it  was  also  gradually  overmastered  by  the 
reviving  classic,  and  the  broader  growth  of  modern  litera- 
ture. 

An  inner  controversy,  on  Philosophic  ground,  early 
divided  scholastics  into  two  parties  as  Realists  and  Nom- 
inalists. Nominalism  soon  fell  under  censure  of  the 
church,  and  gave  place  to  a  modification,  which  is  better 
named  conceptualism.  Realism  was  conservative  and  fav- 
ored as  orthodox. 

Another  division,  on  the  ground  of  faith,  separated 
among  them,  the  Rationalist  from  the  Mystic,  as,  for  ex- 
ample, Abelard  from  Bernard,  and  from  both,  a  mediating 
party,  the  Theologians  of  St.  Victor.  In  their  later  his- 
tory, they  were  divided  also  between  Franciscan  and  Dom- 
inican monks. 

The  progress  of  Scholasticism  carried  with  it  the  im- 
provement of  the  schools,  which  from  the  poor  conven- 
tual instruction  of  the  eleventh  century  was  expanded 
until   it   blossomed   into  the   universities  of  the  thirteenth. 

Scholastic  freedom  of  speculation  lay  in  treatment  of 
points  concerning  which  Scripture  gives  only  indistinct 
hints,  and  the  church  had  yet  pronounced  no  positive 
dogma,  but  they  also  analyzed  with  apparent  freedom 
every  doctrine  of  the  creed.  And  some  ventured  into  a 
bolder  freedom,  which  exposed  them  to  heresy.  David  of 
Dinant,  and  Amalric  of  Bena  were  by  their  method  of 
thinking  led  into  Pantheism,  and  other  philosophical 
errors. 

On  some  points  their  conclusions  prepared  the  way 
for  the  authoritative  adoption,  as  dogmas,  of  what  had 
previously    been   optional   beliefs  ;  as  in  the  case  of  works 


124 

of  supererogation  ;  the  number  of  the  sacraments,  definition 
of  the  doctrine  of  penance,  and  of  priestly  absolution,  and 
transubstantiation. 

The  more  eminent  Scholastics  carried  forward  the 
philosophical  treatment  of  theology  in  a  real  progress, 
beyond  all  that  had  ever  been  done  before  ;  profoundly 
weighing  the  philosophical  import  of  doctrines :  and  although 
much  trifling  may  be  quoted  from  their  later  writers,  yet  to 
the  labors  of  Abelard,  of  Bernard,  of  Peter  Lombard,  of 
Bonaventura,  of  Thomas  Aquinas,  and  others,  of  the 
twelfth  and  thirteenth  centuries,  we  owe  the  first  kindling 
of  modern  Europe  to  intellectual  pursuits,  the  first  scatter- 
ing of  light  into  the  depths  of  mediaeval  darkness,  the  first 
philosophy  which  western  Europe  could  call  her  own,  and 
the  first  classification  in  scientific  form  of  christian  theo- 
logy. 

Some  of  the  Scholastics  also  opened  the  way  to  mod- 
ern scientific  investigation  of  external  nature.  Such  were 
Albertus  Magnus  and  Roger  Bacon. 

3.  During  the  same  period  the  principal  part  of  the 
work  was  done  for  the  Canon  Law  which  conferred  upon 
it  the  completeness  of  its  form.  About' the  middle  of  the 
1 2th  century,  the  Decretum  of  Gratian  issued  from  the 
celebrated  law  University  of  Bologna.  Subsequently  large 
collections  from  the  decretals  of  later  popes  were  added  to 
it,  under  the  names  of  Decretals  and  Extravagantes.  And 
thus  grew  up  the  Corpus  Juris  Canonici. 

4.  Various  councils  successively  gave  their  sanction  to 
elements  of  doctrine,  discipline  and  worship,  which  had 
previously  grown  up  among  the  people,  and  in  ecclesiastical 
practice.  Of  those  the  most  important  was  the  Fourth 
Lateran,  which  confirmed  the  policy  of  Innocent  III.,  es- 
tablished the  practice  of  indulgences,  and  the  doctrine  of 
works  of  supererogation,  of  confession  to  a  priest  as  indis- 
pensable to  obtaining  pardon  of  sin,  and  of  transubstantia- 
tion as  belonging  to  the  creed  of  the  church,  and  the  duty 
of  exterminating  heretics. 

5.  Attempts  were  made,  from  time  to  time,  to  restore 
union  between  the  Greek  and  Roman  catholic  churches,  but 
their  purpose  on  the  side  of  Rome,  being  to  subordinate 
the  Greek,  alwavs  without  effect.     A  strenuous  efiort  to 


125 

that  end  was  made  at  the  council  of  Lyons,  in  1274.  The 
Pope  and  the  Greek  Emperor  with  some  bishops  came  to 
an  agreement.  But  nothing  could  bend  the  Greek  church. 
After  trying  for  a  few  years  by  severe  measures,  to  constrain 
his  people,  the  Emperor  acknowledged  his  discomfiture  ; 
and  Rome  ignored  the  compact  which  could  not  be  carried 
into  effect.  As  soon  as  the  emperor  died,  1282,  the  Greek 
church  formally  repudiated  the  whole  plan  of  reunion,  and 
severely  censured  all  who  had  in  any  way  been  concerned 
in  it. 

6.  During  the  best  period  of  scholasticism,  the  litera- 
ture of  Greece  continued  in  a  depressed  condition.  The 
scholastics  were  the  fruit  of  reviving  intellectual  activity  in 
the  west ;  were  themselves  the  beginning  of  a  process  of 
improvement.  But  no  such  process  had  yet  begun  in  the 
east,  no  new  vitality  was  yet  apparent.  The  old  Empire 
was  there  still  protracting  its  long  decline,  struggling  for 
existence  against  Mohammedan  aggression.  And  the 
energies  of  the  Greeks  were  crushed  under  the  discourage- 
ments of  their  adverse  fortunes.  Some  literary  names  of 
distinction  appear  among  them  ;  but  none  as  connected  with 
any  original  line  of  thought.  Most  worthy  of  mention  were 
Theophylact  archbishop  of  Bulgaria,  (d.  1112,)  commenta- 
tor on  several  books  of  Scripture  ;  John  Zonaras,  one  of 
the  best  Byzantine  historians,  and  Eustathius,  archbishop 
of  Thessalonica,  (d.  1198)  who,  besides  sermons,  wrote  a 
copious  and  valuable  commentary  on   Homer. 

7.  Among  the  churches  of  the  further  east  were  also 
some  writers  of  distinction.  Such  were  Ebed-Jesu  (d.  13 18) 
metropolitan  of  Nisibis,  among  the  Nestorians  ;  Nerses  (d. 
1173)  among  the  Armenians,  and  Dionysius  Bar  Silibi, 
bishop  of  Amida,  (d.  1 171,)  among  the  Monophysites  ;  in 
which  connection  appears  also  the  more  illustrious  name  of 
Abulfarage  (Bar  Hebraeus)  (d.  1286),  and  that  of  George 
Elmacin,  historian  of  the  Saracens. 

8.  With  the  Jews  it  was  a  period  of  great  scholarship, 
when  Solomon  larchi  (d.  1105)  of  Troyes,  Aben  Ezra  of 
Toledo  (d.  1167),  David  Kimchi  of  Narbonne  (d.  about 
1230),  and  Moses  Ben  Maimon,  or  Maimonides,  (d.  1205) 
of  Cordova,  labored  in  the  interpretation  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. 


126 

9-  It  was  also  the  flourishing  period  of  that  Arabic 
philosophy,  which  had  no  little  to  do  with  the  revival  of 
philosophical  studies  in  the  christian  west.  Avicenna  died 
1036;  Al  Gazali  in  1127,  and  Averoes  in  T217.  And  others 
of  less  celebrity  in  letters  were  of  extensive  influence  in 
the  Moorish  schools  of  Spain.  But  freedom  of  philosophi- 
cal speculation  was  latterly  repressed  by  the  Mohammedan 
authorities. 

10.  Among  the  monasteries  irregularities  again  pre- 
vailed. Before  the  twelfth  century  had  far  advanced,  even 
Cluny  itself  had  begun  to  degenerate.  Great  efforts  were 
made  to  restore  discipline,  and  to  set  up  new  monasteries 
with  severer  rulers.  Some  of  the  orders  were  suppressed 
on  account  of  their  scandalous  immorality.  Still,  the  con- 
viction prevailed  that  the  proper  way  to  correct  those  evils 
was  to  establish  new  orders  on  a  better  plan.  Pope  Inno- 
cent III.,  thought  proper  to  interfere,  and  forbade  the  crea- 
tion of  any  more  orders;  and  the  Lateran  council  of  121  5 
took  action  to  same  effect.  Notwithstanding,  two  other 
orders,  which  recommended  themselves  to  him  by  promis- 
ing to  revive  popular  preaching,  were  orally  permitted  un- 
der his  rule,  and  established  soon  afterward,  which  proved 
of  more  influence  in  the  outside  world  than  all  the  pre- 
ceding had  been. 

The  active  apostolic  piety  and  missionary  labor  of  the 
poor  Waldensian  ministers,  and  the  progress  of  dissenting 
opinions  in  the  south  of  France,  and  adjoining  districts, 
arrested  the  attention,  and  alarmed  the  fears  of  the  Rom- 
ish ecclesiastics.  Dominic  of  Osma  in  Spain,  and  Francis 
of  Assisi,  in  Italy,  about  the  same  time  conceived  of  sim- 
ilar plans  for  the  conversion  of  those  so  called  heretics. 
Francis  began  in  1297  to  assemble  about  him  a  body  of 
men,  whom  he  solemnly  laid  under  obligation  to  forego 
all  earthly  possessions,  enjoyments  and  knowledge,  and 
devote  themselves  solely  to  traveling  and  preaching  the  doc- 
trines of  Rome.  They  were  to  be  called  the  Ordo  Fratrum 
Minorum.  As  such  they  received  the  oral  permission  of 
Innocent  III.,  1209,  and  were  fully  established  by  Honorius 
III.,  in  1223.  After  their  example,  as  far  as  domestic,  an 
order  of  nuns  was  instituted,  that  of  Sta.  Clara,  with  a 
regula  drawn  up  by  Francis.     He  also  organized  an  Ordo 


127 

tertius  de  Pccnitentia,  for  pious  laymen,  who  living  in  their 
own  houses,  and  enjoying  their  own  property,  with  their 
families,  maintained  a  sort  of  spiritual  union  under  a 
superior. 

Dominic,  who  had  been  employed  from  1205  in  trying 
to  convert  the  Albigenses,  by  preaching,  conceived  a  sim- 
ilar idea.  It  was  that  of  an  order,  which,  unincumbered 
by  property,  should  travel  through  that  country  preaching 
the  doctrines  of  the  catholic  church.  In  12 15  the  plan  was 
proposed  to  Innocent  III.  who  would  grant  it  nothing  more 
than  his  oral  permission.  But  it  was  fully  sanctioned  next 
year  by  Honorius  III.,  under  the  name  of  the  Ordo  Prcdi- 
catoruni.  Monks  of  that  order  are  more  commonly  called, 
by  the  name  of  their  founder,  Dominican,  or  from  their 
garb,  Black  Friars  ;  as  the  order  of  Francis  is  generally 
called  Franciscan,  or  Minorites,  or  Grey  Friars.  The 
Dominicans  also  constituted  Tertiaries. 

These  were  the  principal  mendicant  orders  by  whom 
preaching,  long  neglected,  or  irregularly  practiced  in  the 
parishes,  was  supplied  to  the  general  public.  Indirectly 
they  conspired  with  the  lecturers  in  the  schools  to  promote 
the  awakening  of  inquiry,  relatively  doing  for  the  populace 
a  work  similar  to  what  the  lecturers  were  accomplish- 
ing in  the  schools. 

Ultimately  they  became  also  the  lecturers,  and  occu- 
pied the  most  prominent  places  as  scholastic  writers. 
Departing  in  course  of  time  from  their  original  design, 
they  departed  also  from  the  rule  of  poverty.  On  that  sub- 
ject the  Franciscans  divided.  The  stricter  party  adhering 
to  the  rule,  formed  themselves  into  a  separate  order,  which 
received  the  name  of  Fraticelli. 

1 1.  About  the  end  of  the  twelfth  century  there  sprang 
up,  in  some  towns  in  the  Netherlands,  societies  of  women, 
who,  without  monastic  vows,  lived  together  under  rules  of 
their  own  adoption,  and  maintained  themselves  from  their 
their  own  property.  They  were  called  Begninae.  During 
the  thirteenth  century,  they  increased  in  France  and  Ger- 
many, as  well  as  in  the  Netherlands,  to  a  great  number. 

Similar  societies  were  also  formed  of  men,  and  those 
who  belonged  to  them  were  called  Beguini,  or  Beghards. 
Latterly  they  connected  themselves  with  the  tertiary  orders 
of  the  Franciscans  and  Dominicans. 


128 

Through  the  mendicant  preaching  orders  and  their 
tertiaries,  the  cloister  opened  its  doors  to  the  world.  And 
the  voluntary  societies  added  popularity  to  the  movement. 

12.  The  clergy  claimed  exemption  from  trial  by  civil 
tribunals,  and  the  popes  labored  zealously  to  withdraw 
them  altogether  from  secular  jurisdiction.  Only  ecclesi- 
astical courts  were  held  competent  to  try  them.  And  from 
all  tribunals  they  claimed  the  right  of  appeal  to  the  pope. 
In  few  countries  were  those  claims  fully  realized. 

13.  From  various  causes,  great  wealth  came  into  the 
hands  of  ecclesiastics,  leading  to  much  conflict  between  the 
spiritual  and  temporal  authorities. 

14.  In  the  course  of  the  twelfth  century,  the  Latin 
church,  in  administering  the  Eucharist,  gradually,  in  one 
place  after  another,  adopted  the  practice  of  withholding  the 
cup  from  the  laity.  Pope  Pascal  II.  opposed  innovation, 
and  ordered  that  the  bread  and  wine  should  be  both  admin- 
istered. After  his  time,  the  opposite  opinion  gained  ground. 
By  the  Greek  church  the  sacramental  elements  were 
mingled. 

15.  Signs  of  intellectual  activity  began  to  appear 
among  the  people,  as  well  as  in  the  church  schools.  They 
consisted  chiefly  in  the  rise  of  religious  dissent,  and  of  an 
incipient  popular  literature. 

The  varieties  of  religious  dissent  may  be  classed  under 
the  heads  of  Paulicians,  Cathari,  Waldenses,  and  independ- 
ent orders. 

16.  The  Paulicians,  in  their  long  persecution  in  the 
ninth  century,  were  scattered  to  both  east  and  west,  beyond 
the  bounds  of  the  Greek  empire.  At  the  end  of  those 
sufferings,  a  considerable  number  of  them  were  found 
resident  among  the  Slavic  population  on  the  lower  Danube. 
Whence  it  is  probable  they  spread  their  doctrines  further 
west,  and  in  more  tolerant  times  found  their  way  back  into 
the  empire.  In  the  reign  of  Ale.xius  Comnenus  (1081- 
1 1 18)  the  city  of  Philippopolis  in  Thrace  was  entirely  under 
their  influence.  That  emperor  undertook  to  convert  them; 
and  removed  his  residence,  for  a  time,  to  Philippopolis, 
with  that  view.  By  force  of  authority,  by  persuasion,  and 
rewards  to  those  who  professed  themselves  convinced  by 
his  arguments,  he  succeeded  in  reducing  the  heresy  in  that 


129 

region.  But  instead  of  it  another  arose.  For  a  long  time 
before,  a  party  had  existed  among  them,  called  Euchites, 
or  Mesalians,  who  had  exercised  some  influence  upon  the 
development  of  Paulician  doctrine.  From  that  connection 
arose  the  Bogomili,  who  made  their  first  appearance  in  the 
latter  years  of  the  same  Emperor.  In  1116  Alexius  ob- 
tained the  confidence  of  their  leader  Basilius,  by  a  treach- 
erous artifice,  and  put  him  to  death.  But  the  sect  main- 
tained its  ground  within  the  empire,  especially  about  Phil- 
ippopolis. 

17.  In  their  peculiar  doctrines  and  customs,  the  Bogo- 
mili agreed  closely  with  those  of  the  Cathari  of  the  west  of 
Europe.  That  relationship  is  also  sustained  historically. 
It  is  admitted  that  the  Cathari  proceeded  from  the  Sclavon- 
ians  of  Bulgaria,  at  least  as  early  as  the  middle  of  the 
eleventh  century  :  and  had  extended  their  societies  to  al- 
most every  country  of  Europe,  before  they  were  discovered 
by  the  hierarchy.  From  Bulgaria  they  spread  into  Thrace, 
and  became  a  large  sect  even  in  Constantinople.  Also  into 
Dalmatia  and  Albania,  where  they  were  called  Albanenses. 
Westward  they  gained  converts  in  large  numbers,  as  far  as 
the  Netherlands,  England,  France,  Spain,  and  Italy.  In 
France,  they  were  frequently  called  the  07'do  Bulgaria:,  or 
Baigari,  Gallicised  into  various  abbreviations.  In  some 
places  they  were  called  Poplicaiii,  Patarini,  or  Passagieri. 
They  divided  the  popular  faith  in  Provence  with  the  Wal- 
denses.  In  Lombardy  and  Florence,  in  the  States  of  the 
Church,  in  Calabria  and  Sicily,  Catharian  congregations 
existed  for  a  long  time.  But  it  was  in  Lombardy  and  the 
South  of  France  where  they  were  strongest.  The  Albigenses 
were  both  Waldensian  and  Catharian.  As  early  as  1022, 
persons  of  Catharian  views  were  burned  to  death  at  Orleans. 

18.  Touching  the  origin  of  the  Waldenses,  there  is 
difference  of  opinion.  But  we  know  that  they  are  men- 
tioned as  existing  among  the  Alps  in  the  twelfth  century, 
and  not  as  a  new  sect  at  that  time.  Their  name  is  derived 
from  their  place  of  residence  in  certain  valleys  of  the  Cot- 
tian  Alps,  on  the  Italian  side,  about  thirty  miles  in  a 
southwest  direction  from  Turin.  By  Catholic  writers  their 
doctrines  were  greatly  misrepresented.  But  more  favored 
than    most   sects  of  that  time,  they  survive   to   speak   for 


130 

themselves.     They  hold   substantially  the  same  views   of 
Scripture  truth  as  are  held  by  Evangelical  Protestants. 

19.  With  dissenting  orders  must  be  included  the 
stricter  branch  of  the  Franciscans,  the  Fraticelli,  who  op- 
posed as  firmly  as  any  others,  the  worldliness  and  luxury 
prevailing  in  the  church,  and  incurred  as  much  persecution, 
also  the  Beguines  and  Beghards,  and  Apostolicals,  besides 
certain  fanatical  orders,  which  were  early  suppressed. 

20.  In  order  to  complete  the  work  of  exterminating 
heretics,  begun  with  such  fearful  scenes  of  bloodshed  in  the 
crusade  against  the  Albigenses,  and  to  organize  a  system 
whereby  the  church  should  always  eradicate  the  first  ap- 
pearance of  heresy,  it  was  made  the  business  of  the  Diocesan 
Synods  to  search  out  and  punish  every  beginning  of  diver- 
gence from  the  faith  of  Rome.  Every  archbishop  and 
bishop  was  directed  to  visit,  either  personally  or  through 
some  suitable  agent,  the  parish  of  his  diocese,  in  which  any 
heretics  were  reported  to  be,  and  to  put  under  oath  any  of 
the  inhabitants  whom  he  chose,  to  point  out  the  suspected. 
Refusal  to  take  the  oath  justified  the  suspicion  of  heresy. 
This  first  form  of  the  Inquisition  was  the  plan  of  Innocent 
III.,  and  enacted  as  law  by  the  fourth  Lateran  council, 
12 15.  An  important  change  was  made  under  Gregory  IX., 
by  the  Council  of  Toulouse,  in  1229,  whereby  the  task  was 
taken  out  of  the  hands  of  the  bishops,  by  the  appointment 
of  Dominican  monks  to  be  permanent  inquisitors. 

21.  The  Holy  Scriptures  were  now  forbidden  to  the 
laity.  In  the  ancient  church  their  use  was  free  to  all,  and 
to  part  with  them  was  held  by  Christians  as  almost  equi- 
valent to  denying  their  Saviour.  But  in  the  lapse  of  ages, 
Catholic  practice  had  departed  so  far  from  gospel  precept, 
that  it  was  deemed  expedient  to  withhold  from  the  people 
the  means  of  comparing  them.  That  step  was  first  taken 
by  the  Greek  catholic  church  in  controversy  with  the  Pau- 
licians,  in  the  ninth  century.  In  the  west,  it  was  ordered 
by  Innocent  III.,  in  1199,  and  by  the  council  of  Toulouse 
in  1229. 

22.  It  was  in  that  belt  of  country  consisting  of  north- 
ern Italy,  southern  France,  and  the  north  of  Spain  that  the 
modern  languages  of  continental  Europe  were  first  trained 
to  the  service  of  literature.     That  early  literature  consisted 


131 

chiefly  of  songs,  called  lays,  and  sung  to  the  accompani- 
ment of  the  harp ;  and  those  who  composed  them  were 
Troubadours.  The  south  of  France  was  its  centre,  and  its 
headquarters  were  the  courts  of  the  counts  of  Provence  and 
of  Toulouse.  The  dialects  throughout  that  belt  of  country 
were  intimately  related.  From  as  early  as  the  beginning 
of  the  eleventh  century  the  Troubadour  literature  had  been 
unfolding  towards  its  proper  maturity.  The  twelfth  century 
was  its  meridian ;  and  it  was  apparently  about  to  issue  in 
something  greater  and  better,  when  it  was  abruptly  ter- 
minated by  the  crusade  against  the  Albigenses.  A  modi- 
fication of  it  was  patronized,  until  a  later  date,  at  the  court 
of  Arragon,  and  by  some  of  the  kings  of  Castile,  and  among 
the  princes  and  free  states  of  northern  Italy. 

23.  The  forms  of  that  style  of  popular  song  were  trans- 
ferred to  the  Latin,  and  used  in  the  service  of  religion. 
Specimens  of  rhymed  Latin  verse  can  be  adduced  from 
earlier  time  ;  but  the  true  history  of  rhymed  Latin  hymns 
begins  with  the  eleventh  century,  and  the  best  of  such  pro- 
ductions belong  to  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth. 

The  latest  lays  of  the  Troubadours  fell  upon  the  youth- 
ful ear  of  Dante,  who  deeply  imbued  with  their  lyrical 
spirit,  and  versed  in  the  Latin  hymnology  and  philosophy 
of  the  schoolmen,  concentrated  the  best  literary  fruits  of  all 
in  his  great  poem  the  Divina  Cominedia,  and  therein  the 
history  of  modern  literature  began.  Dante  was  in  his  prime 
when  the  papal  court  was  removed  to  Avignon. 


VIII.     1305— 1418. 

Papal  Decline — Superiority  of   Councils — Revival 
OF  Learning. 

From  the  middle  of  the  eleventh  century  to  the  begin- 
ning of  the  fourteenth  was  the  period  of  mediaeval  growth, 
purely  and  characteristically  mediaeval.  The  fourteenth 
begins  to  present  some  features  of  the  modern  world.  From 
the  removal  of  the  seat  of  the  papacy  to  Avignon,  a  dis- 
tinct period  in  the  history  of  the  church  extends  until  the 
close  of  the  council  of  Constance,  that  is,  until  1418.     The 


1-32 

period  thus  bounded  has  also  some  peculiar  features  of  its 
own.  Of  these  some  of  the  more  remarkable  are,  the  de- 
clining and  latterly  divided  state  of  the  papacy  ;  a  growing 
freedom  of  dissent;  the  decline  of  dialectic  scholasticism 
and  increase  of  mysticism  ;  the  magnifying  of  national 
hierarchy  over  the  papal ;  the  revival  of  classical  learning 
and  taste,  and  the  rise  of  modern  literature  in  the  Italian, 
Spanish  and  English  languages. 

I.  By  means  of  reducing  the  German  empire,  the  popes 
had  done  much  to  liberate  the  cities  of  northern  Italy,  and 
to  build  up  the  growing  monarchy  of  France.  At  the  be- 
ginning of  the  14th  century,  France  had  no  well  matched 
rival,  among  the  monarchies  of  the  continent,  whom  the 
popes  could  array  against  it.  At  Avignon  they  were  in  no 
condition  to  assert  their  supremacy  over  it.  In  some  of 
the  measures  of  King  Philip,  as  in  the  suppression  of  the 
Knights  Templars,  Clement  V.  was  constrained  reluctantly 
to  concur.  Seven  Popes  reigned  successively  in  Avignon, 
before  the  schism,  that  is,  between  1305  and  1378,  Clement 
v.,  John  XXII.,  Benedict  XII.,  Clement  VI.,  Innocent 
VI.,  Urban  V.,  and  Gregory  XI. 

In  those  circumstances,  the  conflict  which  arose  between 
the  Popes  and  the  Emperor  Louis  of  Bavaria  was  really 
more  to  the  interest  of  the  French  monarchy  than  to  that 
of  the  papacy.  The  people  of  Germany  now  sustained 
their  emperor,  and  Charles  IV.,  elected  through  papal 
means,  was  constrained  to  take  refuge  in  France.  The 
inderdict  was  laid  upon  Germany,  but  took  little  effect. 
When  Louis  died  in  1347,  Charles  had  to  regard  his  former 
election  invalid,  and  submit  to  be  elected   a  second  time. 

In  1347  another  of  those  risings  took  place  in  Rome 
which  have  at  several  times  aimed  at  restoring  the  glories 
of  the  ancient  republic.  Nicholas  de  Rienzi,  by  his  elo- 
quence and  enthusiasm,  made  himself  tribune  of  the  peo- 
ple, and  actually  governed  the  city  for  a  few  years.  He 
was  assassinated  in  1354,  and  the  whole  fabric  he  had 
erected  dissolved.  Cardinal  ^gidius  Albornoz  recon- 
quered the  states  of  the  church,  and  brought  them  back 
to  papal  obedience.  But  the  existence  of  an  antipapal 
party  in  the  papal  dominions  was  thereby  declared  with 
•even  more  boldness  than  in  the  days  of  Arnold  of  Brescia. 


133 

Urban  V.,  in  1367,  attempted  to  remove  his  residence 
back  to  Rome.  Various  causes  were  now  making  that 
desirable,  England  had  recovered  strength  under  the  vigor- 
ous rule  of  Edward  III.,  and  declined  payment  of  the  re- 
quired submission  to  the  Pope,  and  of  the  tribute  imposed 
by  Innocent  III.  The  Pope's  position  in  relation  to  France 
went  to  justify  with  the  English  public  the  acts  of  the 
party  which  questioned  his  right  to  interfere  in  their 
national  affairs.  And  that  party  contained  another  advo- 
cating, also,  an  ecclesiastical  reform.  After  thirty-three 
years,  in  which  the  tribute  had  not  been  paid,  Urban  V., 
in  1365,  made  a  demand  upon  the  King  for  it  with  all  the 
arrears.  Edward  referred  the  question  to  his  parliament, 
which  denied  the  validity  of  the  papal  claim.  It  had  been 
imposed  without  the  consent  of  parliament ;  and  was  there- 
fore unlawful.  That  action  was  defended  by  a  learned 
ecclesiastic  John  of  Wycliff  The  victories  of  Edward  III., 
and  of  his  son  the  Prince  of  Wales,  had  reduced  the  French 
monarchy  and  stripped  it  of  nearly  half  its  dominions, 
and  of  more  than  half  its  power.  For  a  time  England  was 
the  strongest  power  in  western  Europe.  The  pope  had  pur- 
chased Avignon ;  but  the  condition  of  his  estates  in  Italy 
seemed  to  demand  his  presence  there.  Urban  V.  removed 
thither  in  1367,  but  soon  returned  to  Avignon,  and  re- 
mained there  until  his  death.  During  that  visit  to  Rome 
another  effort  was  made,  in  compact  with  the  eastern 
emperor,  John  Pala^ologus,  to  connect  the  Greek  with  the 
Latin  Church.  The  emperor  appeared  personally  before 
the  pope,  and  in  hope  of  military  aid  in  his  desperate  ex- 
tremity before  Turkish  invasion,  humbled  himself  to  all 
the  papal  demands,  and  promised  to  co-operate  in  bringing 
the  Greek  church  to  similar  compliance.  The  prelates 
were  to  be  conciliated  by  rich  benefices,  and  the  young  con- 
verted by  establishing  among  them  Latin  schools,  rendered 
attractive  by  imperial  favor.  Both  parties  overrated  their 
power.  The  western  princes  were  not  persuaded  by  the 
pope  to  undertake  a  crusade,  and  the  Greeks  left  their  em- 
peror alone  in  his  humiliation. 

Urban  V.  died  in  1370,  and  was  succeeded  by  Gregory 
XI.  Disorder  in  the  states  of  the  church  continued  to  in- 
crease.    Gregory  became  fully  convinced  that  at  all   haz- 


134 

ards  he  ought  to  return  to  Rome;  which  he  did  in  1377, 
but  had  to  submit  to  open  negotiations  with  his  enemies. 
Peace  was  scarcely  effected  at  his  death,  which  occurred  in 
1378. 

The  cardinals  were  divided  in  opinion  on  the  subject 
of  returning  from  France.  Urban  VI.  was  elected  Pope  on 
the  9th  of  April,  1378,  by  16  cardinals,  and  took  up  his 
residence  at  Rome.  But  his  intolerable  temper  and  bear- 
ing soon  alienated  those  who  had  been  his  friends.  When 
they  resisted  him,  he  created  26  new  cardinals  to  outvote 
them.  Whereupon  all  but  one  of  those  who  elected  him 
throwing  themselves  into  the  interest  of  the  French  party, 
and  withdrawing  to  Fondi,  in  the  Kingdom  of  Naples, 
elected  Robert  of  Geneva,  on  the  21st  of  September  that 
same  year.  The  new  Pope,  as  Clement  VII.,  resided  at 
Avignon,  and  was  recognized  by  France,  Spain,  Scotland, 
Sicily  and  Cyprus.  To  Urban  VI.  adhered  Italy,  England, 
Bohemia  and  Hungary.  In  this  case  not  only  the  papacy 
was  divided,  but  also  the  Latin  church.  Each  of  the  two 
Popes  held  his  ground  in  the  hope  of  suppressing  the 
other.  The  schism  gave  occasion  to  great  increase  of  cor- 
ruption, and  disgraceful  exhibition  of  animosity  between 
the  parties ;  and  both  maintained  their  respective  papal 
lines  by  subsequent  elections.  At  Avignon  Clement  VII. 
was,  in  1394,  followed  by  Benedict  XIII. ;  and  at  Rome, 
in  1389,  Boniface  IX.  succeeded  Urban  VI.  and  reigned 
until  1404.  The  interval  to  1406  was  filled  by  Innocent 
VII.  Gregory  XII.  was  then  elected  and  continued  in  of- 
fice until  his  resignation  under  the  council  of  Constance,  1415- 

Papal  disputes,  in  which  the  parties  were  always  under 
anathema  of  each  other,  were  felt  to  be  a  scandal,  and  de- 
mands for  the  adoption  of  some  measures  of  reform  became 
numerous  and  importunate.  In  that  movement  the  uni- 
versity of  Paris  took  the  lead.  But  in  England  and  Bohemia 
there  were  parties  more  radical  still,  who  talked  of  rejecting 
the  papal  yoke  altogether.  Both  Benedict  XIII.  and  Gregory 
XII.,  on  their  election,  promised  to  take  the  steps  neces- 
sary to  bring  the  schism  to  an  end ;  but  both  failed  to 
abide  by  the  engagement.  In  1408,  their  respective  col- 
leges of  cardinals  abandoned  both  popes,  and  appealing  to 
Christ,  a  general  council  and  a  future  pope,  assembled  at 


135 

Leghorn.  Thence,  with  advice  of  the  Universities,  they  issued 
a  call  for  a  general  council  to  meet  at  Pisa  in  1409.  In 
that  assembly  there  were  24  cardinals  of  both  papal  connec- 
tions, 200  bishops,  300  abbots,  the  Universities  were 
represented  by  120  Masters  in  Theology,  and  300  gradu- 
ates of  civil  and  canon  law,  and  the  state,  on  both  papal 
interests  by  the  envoys  of  France  and  England.  Taking 
the  ground  defended  by  Gerson,  chancellor  of  the  Uni- 
versity of  Paris,  that  by  its  constitution  under  Christ,  the 
church  is  independent  of  the  Pope,  and  acting  thereupon, 
the  council,  after  a  regular  form  of  trial,  deposed  both  the 
rival  Popes  for  violation  of  their  solemn  obligation,  and 
elected  a  new  candidate,  Alexander  V.,  to  be  sole  Pope. 
But  after  the  adjournment  of  the  council,  Gregory  and 
Benedict  both  denying  its  validity  adhered  to  their  claims, 
and  Alexander  could  not  withdraw  from  his,  without  be- 
traying the  cause  of  the  council.  And  so  from  June  26, 
1409,  there  were  three  Popes,  all  regularly  elected,  accord- 
ing to  one  or  other  of  the  methods  which  had  at  different 
periods  been  accepted  as  valid  in  the  catholic  church. 

Alexander  V.  died  May  3,  1410,  and  John  XXIII. 
was  elected  in  his  stead  by  26  cardinals  at  Bologna,  within 
the  same  month.  Thus  the  Pope  of  Avignon,  though  then 
residing  in  Spain,  the  Pope  of  Rome,  and  the  Pope  of  Bo- 
logna, maintained  their  courts,  in  the  bitterest  hostility  to 
each  other,  for  seven  years. 

Constrained  by  the  Emperor  Sigismond,  the  Pope  of 
Bologna,  John  XXIII.,  consented  to  convoke  a  council  on 
the  north  side  of  the  Alps  for  the  purpose  of  settling  this 
difficulty  and  of  meeting  generally  the  urgent  demand  for 
ecclesiastical  reform,  which  came  from  all  parts  of  Latin 
Christendom.  That  council  met  at  Constance  on  the  5th 
of  November,  1414.  Not  much  was  effected  for  reform, 
but  the  papal  schism  was  brought  to  an  end.  John,  who 
insisted  upon  retaining  the  portion  of  papal  dominion 
which  adhered  to  him,  was  brought  to  trial  for  positive 
crimes,  thrown  into  prison  and  deposed.  Gregory,  perceiv- 
ing the  temper  of  the  council,  honorably  resigned,  141 5. 
Benedict,  in  exile,  was  inaccessible,  and  although  deposed  by 
act  of  the  council,  held  his  ground  tenaciously  ;  and  when 
he  died  in  1424,  two  cardinals  set  up  a  successor  to  him, 


136 

as  Clement  VIII.     The   new  antipope  resigned    1429,  and 
thereby  the  great  papal  schism  was  brought  to  an  end. 

During  the  period  of  division,  the  papal  list  follows 
the  Roman  line,  until  1409.  It  then  passes  to  the  pope 
set  up  by  the  council  of  Pisa  and  his  successor,  until  the 
deposition  of  John  XXIII.  May  29,  141 5.  From  that  date 
there  is  no  pope  recognized  as  true  until  the  election  of 
Martin  V.  November  11,  1417. 

The  council  of  Constance,  like  that  of  Pisa,  was  con- 
stituted on  the  principle  that  a  council  of  bishops,  repre- 
senting the  church  in  general,  is  independent  of  the  pope, 
and  a  superior  authority.  The  members  adopted  the  rule, 
in  the  beginning;  that  they  should  vote  by  nations,  wherebv 
a  check  was  applied  to  the  numerical  majority  of  the  Italian 
prelates.  The  nations  thus  represented  were  the  German, 
the  Italian,  the  French,  the  English,  and  the  Spanish  ;  the 
cardinals  constituted  a  section  by  themselves. 

Inasmuch  as  John  XXIII.  was  deposed  by  that  coun- 
cil, and  Martin  V.  set  up  by  it,  and  accepted  as  a  true  pope 
by  all  the  Latin  church,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  practically 
the  council  was  admitted  to  be  lawfully  competent  to  do 
what  it  had  done,  and  therefore  was  a  higher  power  than 
the  pope — a  court  before  which  popes  could  be  legally 
tried.  And  if  that  is  true  of  the  council  of  Constance,  it 
must  be  true  of  any  council  so  constituted.  All  later  popes 
are  in  the  line  of  succession  from  Martin  V. 

2.  Great  corruption  invaded  the  papal  court  at  Avig- 
non. The  guilt  of  Simony  was  common.  Everything  was 
venal.  And  the  schism  instead  of  contracting  papal  extra- 
vagance, doubled  it.  Popes  turned  the  revenues  of  the 
church  to  the  account  of  their  own  ambition.  Fees  were 
exacted  of  prelates  upon  their  consecration ;  from  many 
benefices  the  income  of  a  year,  call  Annates,  was  exacted 
by  the  pope  before  a  new  incumbent  could  receive  investi- 
ture ;  and  taxes  were  levied  upon  the  public  generally,  un- 
der various  pretenses.  Money  was  also  raised  by  sale  of 
indulgences.  Papal  infallibility  had  already  been  advocated 
by  a  numerous  party,  but  was  now  strongly  opposed  by 
the  better  informed,  and  during  the  schism  could  not  be 
easily  defended. 


137 

3-  Episcopal  authority  was  fortified  by  the  division  of 
the  papal.  Different  countries  chose  their  own  papal  alle- 
giance. Councils  became  of  greater  importance,  and  free- 
dom of  opinion  obtained  a  certain  latitude.  Criticism  of 
at  least  one  pope  was  always  safe.  Men  of  reading  could 
not  fail  to  compare  the  records  of  earlier  Christianity,  with 
what  was  taking  place  around  them.  The  universities  were 
loud  in  their  demands  for  reform,  and  the  public  generally 
looked  for  it.  But  the  heads  of  the  hierarchy,  to  whom 
the  application  was  made,  regarded  it  with  aversion. 

4.  Meanwhile  dissenting  sects  continued  to  increase. 
And  a  greater  number  without  dissenting  from  the  doc- 
trines of  the  church  were  dissatisfied  with  the  conduct  of 
her  clergy.  No  one  fact  appears  more  frequently  in  the 
literature  of  the  14th  century  than  this.  It  is  embodied  in 
the  most  terrific  passages  of  Dante,  it  is  exposed  in  the 
letters  of  Petrarch,  and  the  tales  of  Boccacio,  it  is  declared 
in  various  forms  in  Chaucer,  and  in  the  poem  called  the 
visions  of  Piers  Plowman.  But  who  were  to  be  the  re- 
formers ?  The  strength  of  the  mediaeval  Puritans,  the 
Cathari,  was  broken  ;  the  Albigenses  were  almost  if  not 
altogether  extinguished.  Nor  is  it  certain  that  they,  if  suc- 
cessful, would  have  made  the  reformation  which  was  needed. 
The  seat  of  dissent  was  removed  further  north,  to  the 
Netherlands,  to  Bohemia,  and  especially  to  England,  where 
it  found  a  leader  in  John  Wycliff,  professor  of  theology  in 
the  University  of  Oxford. 

It  was  in  1 366,  when  he  was  Warden  of  Canterbury  Hail, 
Oxford,  that  Wycliff  first  came  before  the  public  in  a  case  of 
great  national  interest,  defending  the  action  of  the  King 
and  Parliament  in  rejecting  the  papal  demand  of  tribute. 
He  was  made  professor  in  theology  in  1372,  and  rector  of 
Lutterworth  in  1375.  He  was  accused  of  heresy  in  1376. 
Gregory  XI.  instituted  an  inquiry  against  him.  He  was 
protected  by  a  strong  party  among  the  nobility,  and  by 
John  of  Ghent,  Duke  of  Lancaster,  one  of  the  sons  of 
Edward  III.  The  succeeding  papal  schism  furnished  an 
occasion  of  which  he  availed  himself  to  publish  scripture 
truth  among  his  countrymen.  His  pupils  whom  he  sent 
on  that  work,  he  furnished  with  the  true  evangelical  armor 
in   his  translation  of  the  Scriptures.     In  1381  he  was  con- 


138 

strained  to  leave  Oxford.  He  retired  to  his  parish  of  Lut- 
terworth and  continued  his  work  of  translating  the  Bible, 
and  otherwise  carrying  forward  reformation  in  the  church, 
until  his  death  in  1384. 

The  followers  of  Wycliff,  generally  called  Lollards, 
were  protected,  or  were  not  harassed  during  the  reign  of 
Richard  IL  But  in  1399  Richard  was  constrained  to 
resign  by  Henry  of  Lancaster,  who  to  secure  the  throne 
he  had  usurped,  threw  himself  into  the  interest  of  the 
Papalists.  Parliament  in  140 1  passed  a  law  that  persons 
convicted  of  heresy  should  be  burned  to  death ;  and  exe- 
cutions forthwith  began.  Still  within  the  reign  of  Henry 
IV.,  the  papacy  was  in  a  divided  and  comparatively  feeble 
condition.  It  recovered  in  the  time  of  Henry  V.,  who 
came  to  the  throne  in  141 3.  Then  was  the  cause  of  refor- 
mation persecuted  with  more  persistent  cruelty.  Wycliff's 
doctrines  were  condemned  at  Constance,  and  ten  years 
later,  1428,  his  bones  were  taken  out  of  the  grave  and 
burned,  and  their  ashes  cast  into  a  neighboring  brook. 
But  the  doctrines  of  Wycliff  were  never  extinguished  in 
England.  They  also  crossed  the  sea  and  met  with  accept- 
ance in  Bohemia.  The  wife  of  Richard  II.,  who  was  a 
sister  of  Wenceslaus,  king  of  Bohemia,  partook  of  the 
spirit  of  the  reformer.  Her  life  as  Queen  of  England  was 
such  as  to  sanction  the  most  important  of  Wycliff's  labors. 
The  communication  thus  established  between  England  and 
Bohemia  greatly  promoted  the  interests  of  reformation  in 
both  countries. 

Among  the  earliest  reformers  in  Bohemia  were  Con- 
rad of  Waldhausen,  pastor  in  Prague,  and  Milicz  of  Krem- 
sier.  Further  advance  was  made  by  Matthias  of  Janow, 
preacher  in  the  cathedral  church  of  Prague  (d.  1394.)  John 
Hus,  teacher  of  theology  at  Prague,  followed  their  example 
by  taking  his  own  lessons  of  divine  truth  from  the  Bible. 
He  soon,  together  with  his  friend  Jerome  of  Prague,  stood 
at  the  head  of  an  almost  national  movement  of  reform, 
which  was  too  strong  to  allow  persecution  to  seriously  in- 
jure them  at  Prague.  When  the  council  met  at  Constance, 
Hus  was  summoned  to  appear  before  it.  He  went  under  a 
letter  of  safe  conduct  from  the  Emperor  Sigismond.  Not- 
withstanding, he  was  condemned  by  the  council  and  burned 


139 

at  the  stake,  July  6,  141 5.  Jerome  who  had  accompanied 
him  to  the  council,  suffered  the  same  fate  on  the  30th  of 
May  following. 

5,  During  the  14th  century  a  change  was  introduced 
into  the  philosophy  of  scholasticism  by  William  Occam, 
professor  of  theology  at  Paris  (d,  1347.)  That  change  con- 
sisted in  a  new  style  of  nominalism,  according  to  which  the 
human  understanding  does  not  apprehend  truth,  but  only 
phenomena,  that  is,  only  particular  things,  including  forms 
of  expression  in  language.  The  truths  of  doctrine  could 
not  be  originally  conceived  of  by  the  human  mind.  They 
were  based  on  the  words  of  Revelation,  which  the  Holy 
Spirit  continues  to  make  to  the  church.  The  human 
mind  knows  only  the  particular  ;  to  general  ideas  there 
is  no  corresponding  objective  reality ;  and  divine  truth  was 
just  the  aggregate  of  different  revelations.  But  consistently 
with  the  growing  system  of  Romish  dogma,  Occam  taught 
that  revelations  had  been  made  to  the  great  doctors  of  the 
church  as  well  as  to  the  apostles.  His  views,  after  a  bitter 
controversy,  prevailed  in  Paris  ;  but  were  rejected  at  the 
university  of  Prague.  In  the  violent  debates,  carried  on 
through  the  14th  century  between  Realists  and  Occamists, 
the  greater  part  of  the  warfare  was  waged  within  the  domain 
of  philosophical  notions  preliminary  to  theology. 

Other  eminent  scholastics  of  the  same  period  were 
Durand,  Bishop  of  Meaux,  (d.  1333)  Thomas  Bradwardine, 
(d.  1346)  Arch-bishop  of  Canterbury  ;  Peter  A'Ailly  (1425,) 
John  Charlier  de  Gerson  of  the  university  of  Paris,  [IS7S~ 
1425,)  and  Nicholas  de  Clemangis,  (1440.)  The  writings 
of  Gerson  and  some  of  his  contemporaries  give  evidence 
that  scholasticism  had  lost  its  power  to  satisfy  the  demands 
of  the  human  mind. 

Biblical  learning  among  Christian  scholars  of  the  west, 
had  for  centuries  been  almost  confined  to  the  Latin  version 
used  in  the  church.  A  professorship  of  Oriental  languages 
was  established  by  Clement  V.,  131 1,  but  only  for  the  in- 
struction of  missionaries.  Nicholas  de  Lyra,  prof,  of  the- 
ology in  Paris,  (d.  1340)  was  the  only  western  scholar  of 
his  time  distinguished  by  a  knowledge  of  Hebrew.  Greek 
scholarship  was  not  quite  so  rare. 

6.  In  the  14th  century  also  the  history  of  that  class  of 
preachers  commonly  mentioned  as  the  mystics  of  the  middle 


140 

ages,  began.  A  certain  class  of  them,  who  were  called  the 
Friends  of  God,  became  of  great  weight  among  the  reforming 
agencies  of  the  church,  especially  in  southwestern  Ger- 
many. God  they  believed  to  be  the  only  reality  ;  all  finite 
things  were,  only  seeming.  This  vie*v,  if  developed  phil- 
osophically, might  have  amounted  to  nothing  more  than  a 
commonplace  pantheism,  which  some  of  them  did  not  avoid, 
but  as  a  class,  they  thought  only  of  nearness  to  a  personal 
and  everywhere  present  God.  The  soul  of  man  must 
separate  itself  from  the  finite,  as  Christ  did,  that  it  may  be- 
come, like  him,  a  son  of  God.  This  is  to  be  done  by  con- 
templation upon  God,  and  renunciation  of  the  world.  They 
also  lamented  the  corruptions  of  the  church,  and  advocated 
a  reform,  and  especially  longed  for  a  spiritual  revival,  which 
they  also  did  no  little  to  promote.  Henry  Eckart  of  Stras- 
burg,  who  lived  in  the  first  quarter  of  the  14th  cent.,  was 
the  earliest  to  advocate  this  faith.  It  was  zealously  ac- 
cepted by  Nicholas  of  Basil,  from  1330,  who  believed  that 
by  ascetic  exercises  he  had,  through  visions  and  revela- 
tions, attained  to  a  complete  renunciation  of  the  world  and 
of  his  own  will,  and  to  an  intimate  communion  with  God. 
Others  adopted  more  or  less  of  the  same  views,  among 
whom  John  Tauler  (d.  1361)  a  Dominican  Monk,  became 
eminently  distinguished.  To  the  same  religious  connection 
belonged  Henry  Suso  of  Ulm,  and  Ruysbroek  of  Brussels 
(d.  1 381),  thought  by  some  to  be  the  author  of  the  The- 
ologia  Germania.  The  succession  continued  through  the 
fifteenth  century,  including  also  such  mediating  men  as  Dr. 
Gerson,  Thomas  a  Kempis,  and  others  who  proceeded  from 
the  school  of  Gerard  at  Deventer,  and  whose  preaching 
and  writings  were  eagerly  sought  after,  greatly  to  the  in- 
crease of  practical  piety,  until  as  a  religious  revival,  their 
work  merged  in  the  greater  one  of  the  Reformation. 

The  mystics  were  not  limited  to  a  particular  order  of 
clergy,  or  class  of  society ;  they  were  of  all  classes.  Nor 
did  they  escape  the  persecution  which  was  leveled  at 
heretics.  Not  a  few  suffered  death.  Nicolas  of  Basil  was 
burned  in  T382. 

The  theological  school  of  Gerard  Groot  at  Deventer 
was  designed  to  promote  true  spiritual  attainments  in 
uniting  sound  knowledge  to  genuine  piety.  He  died  in 
1384.     Two  years  afterwards,  one  of  his  disciples  founded 


141 

near  Zvvoll,  a  chapter  of  regular  canons  with  a  similar  pur- 
pose. 

The  rationalizing  scholastics,  as  distinguished  from  the 
mystics,  were  subtle  dialecticians,  in  some  cases  eloquent 
preachers,  and  in  more  they  were  laborious  writers,  but 
dealt  most  generally  with  the  superficies  and  forms  of 
thought,  mapping,  and  dividing  and  subdividing  the  surface 
of  that  concrete,  which  consisted  of  philosophy  and  the- 
ology and  practical  morals  and  religion  as  one  science. 
The  mystics  penetrated  deeper  into  the  human  heart,  its 
feelings,  its  hopes,  the  basis  of  its  faith,  and  its  relations 
with  the  unseen  world.  In  some  cases  the  style  of  their 
thinking  may  be  characterized  as  visionary  ;  but  with  all 
their  defects,  the  most  profoundly  exercised  Christian  will 
enjoy  their  writings  most,  finding  in  them  much,  which 
though  dialectics  could  never  expound,  he  knows  to  be 
true.  The  sermons  of  Tauler  were  much  esteemed  by 
Luther,  and  the  TJicologia  Germanica,  and  the  De  imitatione 
Christt,  though  burdened  with  heavy  faults,  have  been  cher- 
ished by  the  pious  among  the  educated,  ever  since  the  days 
of  their  publication. 

7.  Another  feature  which  distinguishes  this  from  all 
■other  periods  of  history,  is  the  revival  of  ancient  classical 
literature  and  taste.  In  the  history  of  the  church,  literary 
art  is  a  matter  of  very  great  moment.  For  it  is  the  medium 
of  addressing  instruction  to  the  common  mind.  Scholas- 
ticism spoke  the  language  of  students,  and  addressed  the 
learned  alone.  It  knew  nothing  of  a  reading  populace.  Im- 
mediately it  did  little  or  nothing  for  instructing  the  people. 
Another  style  of  literary  men  was  needed  to  execute  that 
work.  And  such  a  class  had  arisen,  men  who  employed 
the  popular  dialects  in  their  productions,  and  who  for  en- 
listing of  public  attention  and  interest  relied  upon  those 
principles  which  long  ages  of  classical  experience  had  proved 
the  best.  Their  models,  and  guides  to  those  principles 
were  the  best  authors  of  classical  antiquity.  In  that  move- 
ment the  literature  of  modern  Europe  began.  Dante  was 
the  transition  ;  his  Divina  Conimedia  is  the  fruit  of  the  Mid- 
dle ages  as  to  its  substance  and  form  ;  while  his  poetic  ex- 
emplar was  Virgil.  But  the  true  reviver  of  classical  taste 
in  literature  was  Petrarch.     (1304-1374.)     In  that  pursuit 


142 

he  was  early  joined  by  his  friend  and  pupil  Boccacio.  Zeal- 
ously did  they  both  labor  in  searching  out  works  of  ancient 
classical  authors  and  in  having  them  copied  and  repub- 
lished, as  well  as  in  recommending  the  study  of  them  to 
others. 

Study  of  classical  Latin  naturally  led  also  to  the  Greek. 
And  Greek  literary  men  fleeing  before  the  advance  of  Turk- 
ish conquest,  and  finding  refuge  in  Italy,  furnished  those 
progressive  scholars  with  Greek  teachers.  The  work  thus 
begun  was  taken  up  by  many  others,  their  number  increas- 
ing as  the  interest  and  richness  of  the  rediscovered  mine 
became  better  known. 

Under  the  force  of  classical  example,  some  of  the 
modern  languages,  first  of  all  the  Italian,  and  then  the  Eng- 
lish, began  to  assume  the  dignity  of  letters.  And  popular 
treatment  of  interesting  topics  took  a  wider  range.  The 
author  of  Piers  Plowman,  Mandeville,  Chaucer,  Wycliff, 
Gower  and  Barbour,  in  Great  Britain,  were  the  contempor- 
aries of  Petrarch  and  Boccacio,  in  Italy.  And  Wycliff, 
Chaucer,  and  the  author  of  Piers  Plowman  were  all  advo- 
cates of  ecclesiastical  reform.  English  literature  opened  in 
the  most  important  and  successful  effort  for  reformation 
made  in  the  14th  century. 

In  Germany,  the  Minnesingers  of  the  13th  century  had 
given  way  to  a  class  of  poets  called  Master  singers,  who 
organized  themselves  into  societies  for  the  purpose  of  pro- 
moting their  art.  But  their  rules  were  unproductive  of  any 
great  work  capable  of  standing  the  test  of  time. 

Neither  did  French  literature  advance  as  might  have 
been  expected.  In  the  south,  the  Troubadours  suffered 
with  the  Albigenses.  In  the  north  the  Trouvere  literature 
existed  chiefly  among  the  Normans.  And  those  who  pro- 
duced it,  after  the  pacification  of  England,  made  that  coun- 
try their  principal  residence.  The  best  works  of  the  Trou- 
veres,  though  in  the  language  of  northern  France,  were 
written  in  England.  Civil  war  and  foreign  invasion  also 
stood  in  the  way  of  any  literary  culture,  which  may  have 
been  incipient  among  the  people. 

Italy  and  England  were,  in  respect  to  vernacular  liter- 
ature, greatly  in  advance  of  all  other  nations.  The  Eng- 
lish took  the  bent  of  religious  reform  ;  the  Italian  that  of  art. 


143 

8.  The  eastern  empire  was  now  contracted  to  a  small 
space,  and  that  continually  threatened  by  the  new  power 
of  the  Ottoman  Turks.  Many  earnest  attempts  were  made 
by  the  Greek  Emperors  to  re-unite  the  eastern  and  western 
churches,  with  the  view  of  securing  aid  from  the  nations  of 
the  west.  But  every  such  plan  was  defeated  by  the  un- 
bending tenacity  with  which  both  ecclesiastical  parties  held 
to  their  own  doctrines,  claims  and  practices,  and  rejected 
those  of  the  other.  Controversy,  and  consequent  aliena- 
tion between  the  two  churches,  was  rather  increased  by 
agitating  the  question  of  union. 

In  1367  Armenia  was  conquered  by  the  Mamelukes, 
who  from  the  middle  of  the  thirteenth  century  had  been 
masters  in  Egypt.  And  the  churches  in  both  countries 
were  subjected  to  a  cruel   oppression. 

On  the  other  hand,  in  the  north,  there  was,  gradually 
emancipating  itself  from  foreign  domination,  a  power 
destined  in  the  course  of  ages  to  become  the  successful 
champion  of  the  Greek  church  to  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
But  at  that  time,  Russia  was  still  struggling  for  existence 
in  war  with  the  Mongol. 

IX.     1418 — 1517. 

Progress  of  the  Revival  of  Learning — Revival  of 
Religion— OF  the  Study  of  Scripture — of  Preaching. 

The  various  reform  movements  which  took  their  rise, 
or  emerged  into  notice  in  the  14th  century,  continued  to 
make  progress  in  the  period  which  opened  in  the  last 
weeks  of  the  council  of  Constance,  and  closed  with  the 
publication  of  Luther's  Theses,  in  15 17.  Of  that  section 
of  history  in  Europe  one  of  the  most  important  features 
is  the  advancing  spirit  of  reform  among  the  people  and 
the  parish  clergy,  and  the  increase  of  Scriptural  knowledge 
and  general  intelligence  with  which  it  was  conducted,  over 
against  the  inverse  culture  of  superstition.  A  second  was 
the  restored  unity  of  the  Papacy,  and  accelerated  moral 
degeneracy  of  the  Popes.  A  third  was  the  question  of  the 
authority  of  councils  over  the  Papacy  and  the  church.  A 
fourth,  the  continued  decline,  and  final  submersion  of  scho- 


144 

lasticism,  and  the  rapid  growth  of  classical  learning  and 
popular  literature.  A  fifth,  the  invention  of  printing.  A 
sixth  the  maturity  of  Italian  art.  And  a  seventh  must  be 
added  consisting  of  several  remarkable  events,  which  com- 
bined to  change  in  an  important  degree  the  habits  of  in- 
dustry and  the  channels  of  enterprise. 

I.  On  the  nth  of  November  1417,  the  council  of  Con- 
stance elected  Otto  Colonna  Pope,  under  the  name  of  Martin 
V.  He  was  acknowledged  by  all  the  nations,  the  first  sole 
Pope  in  forty  years.  The  council  immediately  lost  its  im- 
portance;  and  after  having  appointed  a  succession  of  gen- 
eral councils  to  keep  supervision  over  the  interests  of  the 
church,  it  terminated  its  own  sessions,  on  the  22nd  of  April 
1418. 

The  first  in  that  succession  of  councils  was  appointed 
to  meet  at  Pavia,  in  1423.  By  the  Pope  it  was  diverted  to 
Sienna,  and  then  dissolved,  before  it  had  transacted  any 
business.  The  next,  appointed  to  meet  seven  years  later, 
assembled  at  Basil,  Dec.  14,  1431. 

Martin  V.  died  in  February  of  that  year,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Eugenius  IV.,  elected  by  the  Cardinals. 

The  council  of  Basil  entered  earnestly  into  the  attempt 
to  reform  the  church.  In  its  first  years  the  Pope  was  con- 
strained to  yield  on  all  points.  Some  serious  abuses  were 
condemned  and  abolished.  Papal  prerogatives  and  revenue 
were  seriously  threatened.  Eugenius,  in  order  to  exercise 
the  more  control  over  its  proceedings,  issued  a  bull,  order- 
ing the  council  to  remove  to  Ferrara.  Some  bishops  com- 
plied, but  the  greater  number  remained  at  Basil.  Unfortu- 
nately, they  passed  sentence  of  deposition  upon  Eugenius, 
and  elected  Amadeus  VIII.  of  Savoy  in  his  stead,  as  Felix 
V.  This  introduction  of  a  new  schism,  so  soon  after  the 
church  had,  with  much  trouble,  composed  the  disorders  be- 
longing to  the  former,  prejudiced  the  cause  of  the  council. 
Some  of  the  members,  in  dissatisfaction,  returned  home, 
and  after  the  month  of  May  r443,  the  council  gradually 
fell  apart.  In  1448  it  removed  to  Lausanne,  and  dissolved 
next  year.     Felix  V.  had  already  resigned. 

During  the  early  days  of  that  council,  while  it  was  yet 
a  real  power,  occasion  was  taken  to  revive  the  ancient  lib- 
.erties  of  the  Gallican   Church,  and   to  extend  and   define 


145 

them.  France  was  then  in  one  of  her  lowest  periods  of 
adversity,  and  the  EngUsh  were  still  in  possession  of  Paris, 
when  Charles  VII.,  on  the  7th  of  July  1437  executed  the 
Pragmatic  sanction  of  Bourges,  by  which  he  accepted  the 
decisions  of  the  council  of  Basil.  They  continued  to  be 
law  in  France  until  December,  15  15,  when  Francis  I.  sacri- 
ficed them  to  his  concordat  with  the  Pope. 

Eugenius  IV.  persistently  labored  to  undo  the  reform- 
ing acts  of  the  council,  and  had  some  reason  to  be  gratified 
with  the  degree  of  his  success.  Where  he  could  not  pre- 
vent their  acceptance,  he  succeeded  in  embarrassmg  their 
operation,  and  on  his  death  bed  received,  through  her  am- 
bassadors, the  returning  allegiance  of  Germany. 

Meanwhile,  at  the  Pope's  council  in  Ferrara,  and  later 
in  Florence,  the  principal  event  was  another  show  of  union 
with  the  Greek  church  ;  of  all  such  the  most  deceitful  and 
humiliating  to  those  concerned.  The  emperor  John  VII., 
Palasologus,  reduced  to  the  last  extremity  by  aggression  of 
the  Turks,  and  the  Pope  striving  to  counteract  the  council 
of  Basil,  agreed  in  earnestly  desiring  the  union;  the  former 
in  hope  that  western  arms  might  thereby  be  brought  to  the 
aid  of  his  own  in  repelling  the  Mohammedan;  and  the  lat- 
ter, believing  that  the  weight  of  such  a  vast  addition  to  his 
Jurisdiction  would  enable  him  to  overmatch  his  opponents, 
if  not  to  overwhelm  them  by  the  torrent  of  a  crusade.  In 
Papal  ships,  and  partly  with  Papal  money,  the  impoverished 
emperor  left  Constantinople  accompanied  by  the  Patriarch 
and  a  number  of  Greek  prelates.  They  were  received  with 
pomp  and  adulation  at  Venice,  and  afterward  at  Ferrara. 
But  the  meetings  of  the  council  were  thinly  attended  and 
business  was  delayed.  After  about  two  years,  and  after  the 
removal  to  Florence,  the  act  of  union  was  passed.  It  was 
one,  in  which  the  necessities  of  the  Greeks  constrained 
Ihem  to  yield  enough  to  render  the  whole  unavailing.  They 
returned  home  to  encounter  a  storm  of  disapproval.  Their 
action  was  utterly  rejected.  A  respectable  minority  of  them, 
with  Mark  bishop  of  Ephesus  at  their  head,  had  dissented 
from  everything  at  variance  with  Greek  orthodoxy.  They 
were  now  the  national  heroes.  Many  of  the  majority  re- 
igretted  the  part  they  had  taken  in  the  affair,  and  expressed 
.their  repentance  in  terms  of  profound  contrition.     The  em- 


146 

peror,  in  attempting  to  save  his  country,  had  lost  its  confi- 
dence and  support,  and  was  denounced  as  a  traitor  to  its 
most  sacred  cause.  The  pompously  constructed  union 
proved  a  nullity.  Asa  constrained  attempt  at  compromise, 
its  statements  of  doctrine  are  of  little  value,  as  touching 
the  real  faith  of  the  Greek  church.  On  the  same  occasion, 
certain  Armenian,  Maronite  and  Monophysite  deputies 
from  Syria,  Egypt  and  Ethiopia,  accepted  the  terms  of 
union  with  Rome,  which  the  churches  they  represented 
also  refused  to  ratify. 

Upon  the  death  of  Eugenius  IV.,  Feb.  7,  1447,  Nico- 
las V.  took  up  the  policy  of  his  predecessors,  in  respect  to 
the  authority  of  his  office,  but  was  a  man  of  superior  liber- 
ality in  other  respects,  and  an  eminent  patron  of  literature 
and  learning.  Upon  the  fall  of  Constantinople,  he  issued 
a  summons  for  a  Crusade.  But  such  enterprises  were  out 
of  date  long  ago.  None  responded  to  the  call.  But  the 
papal  treasury  gained  by  collections  of  money  for  the  pur- 
pose. 

Calixtus  III.,  who  succeeded  Nicolas,  (145  5-1468) 
adopted  the  same  device  for  raising  money,  but  created 
thereby  great  dissatisfaction,  especially  in  Germany,  and 
indirectly  strengthened  the  hands  of  the  reforming  party. 

yEneas  Sylvius,  a  former  adherent  of  the  council  of 
Basil,  was  elected  pope,  under  the  name  of  Pius  II.,  and 
turned  out  as  high  toned  a  defender  of  papal  prerogative 
as  any  of  his  predecessors.  He  also  tried  to  organize  a 
crusade ;  but  no  popular  interest  could  be  aroused  in  the 
cause.  His  successor  Paul  II.  in  a  pontificate  of  seven 
years,  succeeded  in  making  himself  generally  hated  with- 
out accomplishing  anything  of  importance. 

The  succeeding  popes  of  this  period  were  men  of  such 
character  that  it  is  amazing  how  they  ever  obtained  elec- 
tion to  any  ecclesiastical  office  whatever.  Sixtus  IV., 
{1471-1484),  although  a  man  of  public  spirit,  who  enlarged 
the  papal  library,  and  executed  several  improvements  in 
the  city  of  Rome,  spent  most  of  his  time  in  measures  to 
enrich  himself  and  his  kindred,  and  in  petty  Italian  wars. 
Those  who  praise  him  boast  that  "  no  Prince  ever  offered 
him  an  injury,  or  indignity  which  he  did  not  return  with 
due  revenge."     Of  Innocent  VIII.,  (1484-1492)  the  princi- 


147 

pal  facts  recorded  are  his  quarrels  with  Ferdinand  of  Ara- 
gon  and  Naples,  and  his  rapacity  in  providing  for  his  own 
illegitimate  children. 

Alexander  VI.  (1492-1503)  may  be  said  to  have 
sounded  the  lowest  depths  of  profligacy.  He  and  his  chil- 
dren have  rendered  their  family  name,  Borgia,  notorious  in 
the  annals  of  crime.  He  died  from  taking  by  mistake  the 
poison,  which  he  or  his  son  Caesar  had  prepared  for  others. 
Pius  HI.  reigned  only  a  few  days.  Julius  H.  (1503-1513) 
was  more  of  a  soldier  than  a  minister  of  religion.  As  a 
man,  profane  and  blasphemous,  as  a  prince,  taking  delight 
in  war,  he  sacrificed  thousands  to  his  ambition,  "  and  by 
his  other  enormities  rendered  his  name  odious  to  pos- 
terity." Within  his  pontificate,  a  general  council  was  sum- 
moned at  Pisa  by  the  Emperor  and  the  King  of  France. 
It  met  in  September,  15  11,  for  the  purpose  of  once  more 
attempting  some  reform  of  the  generally  admitted  abuses 
in  the  church.  Julius,  to  counteract  it,  convoked  a  Lateran 
council  to  meet  in  April  of  the  next  year.  The  council  of 
Pisa  effected  nothing  towards  the  end  for  which  it  was 
called,  and  the  emperor  Maximilian  gave  in  his  adherence 
to  Julius  and  the  Lateran  council,  which  was  not  intended 
to  reform  anything.  Julius  died  amid  plans  for  a  league 
to  carry  a  ruinous  war  into  France.  In  15  13,  Leo  X.  of 
the  illustrious  de  Medici  of  Florence,  succeeded  Julius,  and 
restored  at  least  a  decent  decorum  to  the  papal  court. 
Leo  X,  had  little  claim  to  the  character  of  Christian  piety, 
but  he  was  a  wise  ruler,  refined  in  his  tastes,  and  an  emin- 
ent patron  of  learning  and  the  fine  arts.  His  first  few  years 
restored,  to  all  appearance,  the  full  harmony  of  the  Papacy 
with  the  secular  powers.  Accordingly  he  could  go  on  to 
gratify  his  taste  for  the  grand  and  beautiful  in  art.  The 
new  cathedral  of  St.  Peter's  was  his  favorite  enterprise ; 
and  money  was  to  be  collected  for  its  completion  by  all 
available  means. 

2.  During  the  whole  of  this  period,  the  inverse  cur- 
rents of  events  continued  to  advance  with  increasing  rapid- 
ity :  on  one  side,  the  practice  of  old  abuses,  and  reckless 
development  of  their  consequences ;  on  the  other,  the  ef- 
fort to  obtain  some  correction  of  them,  though  often  de- 
feated, was  becoming  better  sustained  by  strength  and  in- 
telligence. 


148 

Restoration  of  papal  unit}-  brought  with  it  the  idea 
of  restoring  every  thing  to  the  standard  of  the  thirteenth 
century.  Practices  and  dogmas  to  which  one  party  ob- 
jected, were  set  forth  by  the  other  in  a  bolder,  and  some- 
times most  reprehensible  manner.  Transubstantiation  was 
urged  in  its  grossest  extreme  ;  adoration  of  the  Virgin 
Mary  received  additions,  belief  in  her  immaculate  concep- 
tion continued  to  gain  ground  ;  the  rosary  systematized 
the  vain  repetition  of  prayer  to  her,  and  her  house  removed 
from  Nazareth  to  Italy  became  the  holy  shrine  of  Loretto. 
Indulgences  had  been  a  saleable  commodity  for  ages,  but 
the  traffic  in  them  was  now  pushed  to  an  unprecedented 
extent,  especially  by  Dominican  monks.  The  principle 
upon  which  they  were  justified  was  invented  by  the  school- 
men out  of  pre-existing  Romish  practices,  the  granting  of 
absolution  by  priests,  belief  in  purgatory,  and  the  necessity 
of  good  works  in  order  to  salvation,  the  merit  of  saints, 
and  the  papal  power  of  the  keys.  The  doctrines  logically 
accounting  for  these  practices,  and  others  growing  out  of 
them,  were  elaborated  chiefly  by  Albertus  Magnus,  and 
Alexander  Hales,  and  most  of  all,  by  Thomas  Aquinas, 
and  were  now  practically  applied  in  ecclesiastical  business. 

The  merits  of  Christ  atone  for  original  sin,  and  secure 
ultimately  eternal  happiness  for  all  baptized  Catholics.  But 
the  individual  believer  must  account  for  his  own  actual  sins 
by  good  works,  or  penances.  If  deficient  in  these  latter, 
at  the  time  of  his  death,  he  must  suffer  the  adequate  amount 
in  Purgatory.  When  by  that  proportion  of  suffering  his 
soul  has  been  purified,  it  ascends,  in  regular  order,  to  Para- 
dise. But  it  may  take  thousands  of  years  to  reach  that 
consummation.  Most  men  come  greatly  short  of  the  neces- 
sary amount  of  merit,  and  have  to  suffer  long.  The  saints 
happily  have  accumulated  more  than  enough  for  their  own 
use.  The  surplus  is  laid  up  in  store ;  and  from  it  can  be 
drawn  what  is  needed  for  the  lack  of  imperfect  souls.  And 
the  Pope,  by  his  power  as  vicar  of  Christ,  can.  for  sufficient 
reasons,  grant  to  the  faithful,  whether  in  this  life  or  in  Purga- 
tory, indulgences  out  of  that  superabundance  of  the  merits 
of  Christ  and  of  the  saints.  Where  the  Pope  is  not  himself 
present,  that  favor  can  be  extended  through  his  properly 
commissioned  agents,  and  by   means  of  a  written   paper 


149 

properly  signed  and  sealed.  "  Those  who  have  obtained 
such  indulgences  are  released  from  so  much  of  the  temporal 
punishment  due  for  their  actual  sins  to  the  divine  justice,  as 
is  equivalent  to  the  indulgence  granted  and  obtained." 
Temporal  punishment  means  punishment  in  this  life,  or  in 
Purgatory. 

Such  were  the  documents  nov/  multiplied  enormously 
and  offered  for  sale,  carried  into  various  countries  and  re- 
commended to  purchasers,  in  some  places  quietly,  in  others 
loudly  and  publicly,  as  peddlers  vend  their  wares.  And  the 
plea  for  such  activity  in  the  traffic  was,  in  some  countries 
put  forth  openly,  to  raise  money  to  complete  the  church  of 
St.  Peter's.  Such  was  the  style  in  which  things  were  con- 
ducted by  the  leaders  of  one  party,  which  might  be  called 
the  conservatist  of  that  time. 

With  such  facilities  for  obtaining  pardon  of  sin,  or  in- 
dulgence in  it,  with  such  example  as  that  produced  among 
the  clergy  by  celibacy  enforced  and  concubinage  freely  con- 
nived at,  what  was  to  be  expected  of  practical  morals  among 
the  laity  'i  No  period  in  the  history  of  Christendom  bears 
a  deeper  brand  of  moral  license  than  the  fifteenth  century, 
and  the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth. 

Circulation  of  the  scriptures  among  the  people  in  a 
language  they  could  understand  was  prohibited,  and  actually 
prevented  as  far  as  the  hierarchy  could  carry  their  purpose 
into  effect.  Church  service  was  in  Latin,  of  which  the 
people  did  not  now  understand  one  sentence.  Singing  in 
Church  had  long  ago  been  taken  out  of  the  mouths  of  the 
congregations  and  committed  to  choirs  of  priests;  and  what 
they  sang,  or  chanted  was  also  in  a  dead  language. 

Preaching  as  revived  by  the  mendicant  monks  had  not 
proved  of  the  effect  intended.  It  had  not  converted  the  dis- 
senting sects,  nor  done  much  for  general  edification.  The 
sermons  of  the  monks  were  in  the  vernacular  tongues  ;  but 
most  commonly  consisted  of  legends  of  .saints,  commenda- 
tions of  indulgences,  or  of  some  superstitious  practice. 

To  engage  and  occupy  the  increasing  activity  of  intel- 
lect, various  devices  were  employed,  some  of  them  the  fruit 
of  that  activity  itself.  Such  were  the  dramatic  entertain- 
ments, called  Mysteries,  Miracle  Plays,  and  Moralities,  ex- 
hibited in  the  churches,  which  commenced  at  a  much  earlier 


150 

time,  increased  in  number  and  importance  in  the  14th  and 
r5th  centuries. 

In  th(?  latter  part  of  this  period  scholasticism  proper 
reached  its  termination.  The  most  complete  and  copious 
treatise  on  Theology  produced  in  the  15th  century  was  the 
Snmma  Theologica  of  Antoninus,  printed  in  Nuremburg  in 
1479,  twenty  years  after  the  author's  death.  And  the  last 
of  the  scholastics  whom  History  may  be  concerned  to  re- 
cord, was  Gabriel  Biel  of  Tilbingen,  who  died  in  1495. 
Still,  the  peculiar  style  of  their  disquisitions  lingered  long 
in  some  branches  of  study  in  the  universities  ;  and  only 
gradually  gave  way  before  the  advance  of  a  more  discrete 
philosophy. 

3.  On  the  other  hand,  the  movement  in  the  direction 
of  reform  was  proceeding  by  various  channels.  Restora- 
tion of  classical  learning  continued  to  advance.  Upon  the 
fall  of  Constantinople,  many  learned  Greeks  took  refuge  in 
the  West,  where  they  maintained  themselves  by  teaching 
their  native  tongue.  With  the  progress  of  Greek  scholar- 
ship, the  philosophy  of  Plato  was  revived.  The  illustrious 
Cosmo  de  Medici  founded  a  Platonic  school  at  Florence. 
Help  was  thereby  brought  to  the  study  of  art,  and  a  rival 
set  up  to  scholasticism.  By  the  end  of  the  15th  century, 
Latin  was  once  more  written  in  classical  purity,  and  the 
best  Greek  authors  were  familiar  to  the  scholars  of  the 
west.  It  was  inevitable  that  the  original  Greek  text  of  the 
Scriptures  should  receive  a  large  share  of  attention.  In 
the  beginning  of  the  i6th  century  the  Greek  New  Testa- 
ment was  one  of  the  most  saleable  books. 

The  arts  of  painting,  sculpture  and  architecture  had 
grown  up  with  reviving  literature.  Gothic  architecture, 
like  the  poetry  of  Dante,  was  a  fruit  of  the  Middle  Ages, 
and  reached  its  prime  in  the  14th  century,  but  the  revival 
of  learning  rekindled  a  taste  for  the  Roman.  In  the  15th 
century,  Italy  saw  a  great  many  buildings  of  that  style 
erected.  And  greatest  of  all,  the  new  St.  Peter's  was 
slowly  rising  from  its  foundations.  It  had  been  com- 
menced by  Nicolas  V.,  in  1450.  But  although  carried 
forward  by  architects  of  the  highest  talent,  and  with  great 
expenditure  of  money,  it  was,  in  the  time  of  Leo  X.,  far  from 
complete.     Nor  was  it  finished  until   one  hundred  years 


151 

later  (1614).  At  the  opening  of  the  i6th  century  the  ex- 
cellence and  renown  of  her  arts  absorbed  the  pride,  and 
the  best  energies  of  Italy.  In  this  respect,  her  example 
was  followed  in  the  Netherlands  and  some  places  in  Ger- 
many. France  and  England  were  interrupted  in  their 
better  progress  by  the  wars  with  each  other,  and  by  the 
civil  broils  which  long  distracted  both. 

Within  the  same  period  the  christian  Spaniards  suc- 
ceeded in  finally  expelling  the  Moors  from  Granada  (1492). 
The  Portuguese  had  driven  them  from  their  part  of  the 
Peninsula,  at  an  earlier  date,  and  extended  their  conquests 
to  Africa.  The  mariner's  compass  had  been  introduced 
some  time  before.  It  was  now  employed  by  daring  Portu- 
guese mariners,  in  explorations  of  the  Atlantic  ocean,  off 
the  African  coast,  until  by  successive  attempts  they  ulti- 
mately rounded  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope,  and  sailed  to 
India,  (1498);  while  Columbus,  in  the  service  of  Spain, 
with  a  still  bolder  daring,  launched  directly  across  the  At- 
lantic and  reached  the  VVest  Indies  in  1492.  A  new  route 
was  thus  opened  to  India,  a  productive  trade  re-opened, 
which  for  centuries  had  been  obstructed  by  the  conquests 
of  the  Turks  ;  and  a  new  archipelago  and  two  new  con- 
tinents were  discovered.  The  commerce  of  the  world  was 
turned  to  the  paths  of  the  ocean.  The  countries  on  the 
Atlantic  coast  rose  in  importance,  while  those  on  the  Me- 
diterranean declined  :  a  change  of  the  utmost  importance 
in  the  great  ecclesiastical  controversy  about  to  ensue. 

The  difference  of  exposure  between  the  mailclad 
knight  and  his  peasantry  on  the  battle  field  was  almost 
annihilated  by  the  discovery  of  gunpowder,  and  its  appli- 
cation to  war ;  a  change  the  moral  effects  of  which  are  not 
easily  computed.  It  became  impossible  to  hold  as  serfs 
men  in  whose  hands  were  the  military  fortunes  of  their 
nation,  when  increasing  intelligence  had  sufficiently  in- 
formed them  of  their  importance.  And  when  they  also 
became  enlightened  by  the  gospel,  their  consciousness  of 
power  blended  with  Christian  heroism. 

The  new,  or  revived  arts  were,  in  the  first  instance, 
exercised  in  the  service  of  the  Romish  church.  The  only 
exception  was  that  of  printing,  which  from  the  first,  was  an 
agent  of  progress,  on  whatever  side   of  the   controversy   it 


152 

wrought.  Its  earliest  productions  were  executed  before  the 
middle  of  the  15th  century.  And  in  the  next  sixty  or  sev- 
enty years  the  book  upon  which  its  labors  were  chiefly 
employed  was  the  Bible,  first  printed  with  moveable  metal 
types,  by  Faust  and  Guttenberg,  at  Mayence  between  1450 
and  1455.  Several  editions  of  the  Vulgate  followed  each 
other  at  no  great  intervals.  And  many  translations  made 
from  it  into  the  modern  languages  were  printed  before  the 
end  of  the  century.  Hebrew  scholarship  had  also  com- 
menced its  career  among  christians  of  the  west,  and  two 
editions  of  the  whole  Hebrew  Bible  were  printed  within 
the  same  time,  one  at  Soncino  in  1488,  and  the  other  at 
Brescia  in  1494.  And  by  the  year  15 17  the  Complutensian 
Polyglot  was  finished,  and  printed  at  Alcala  in  Spain. 

4.  After  all,  the  main  stream  of  improvement,  which 
carried  all  these  agencies  along  with  it,  and  made  its  own 
benign  uses  of  them,  was  the  increasing  interest  in  evan- 
gelical religion.  The  influences  set  in  activity  by  the  mystic 
preachers,  not  so  much  from  their  theory  of  faith,  as  in  that 
they  preached  Christ,  operated  in  that  direction  within  the 
bosom  of  the  Catholic  Church.  Such,  likewise,  was  the 
moderate  mystic,  or  more  properly,  spiritual  piety,  tinged 
with  monasticism,  which  perpetuated  itself  from  the  school 
of  Gerard,  through  the  Brethren  of  the  common  life,  and 
the  canons  of  Mount  St.  Agnes  at  Zwoll.  But  head  and 
front  of  all  was  the  great  dissenting  movement  which,  com- 
menced in  England,  was  now  most  conspicuous  in  Bohemia 
and  Moravia,  where  in  the  face  of  persecution,  the  reformers 
organized  themselves  for  defence,  and  under  their  brave  and 
gifted  leader,  Ziska,  held  their  ground  against  the  Emperor, 
in  successful  war,  for  many  years.  Finally  their  enemies 
succeeded  in  dividing  them  by  offering  a  compromise, 
which  only  a  part  of  their  number  could  accept.  Those  who 
submitted,  called  Calixtines,  because  the  restoration  of  the 
cup  in  the  Eucharist  was  one  of  the  conditions  of  the  com- 
promise, finding  that  the  conditions  were  not  complied  with, 
on  the  part  of  the  Catholics,  returned  in  considerable  num- 
bers and  reunited  with  the  uncompromising  party,  who 
were  called  Taborites,  and  formed  with  them  the  covenant 
of  the  Unitas  Fratrum.  About  1470  they  published  a  trans- 
lation of  the  Bible  in  the   Bohemian  language;  and  sent 


153 

commissioners  into  various  countries  to  inquire  into  the 
state  of  religion.  About  the  beginning  of  the  i6th  century, 
they  had  still  some  two  hundred  congregations,  by  whom' 
fraternal  relations  had  been  established  with  the  Waldenses. 

In  Spain  and  Italy  also  voices  were  raised  in  advocacy 
of  reformation ;  but  Papal  authority  was  too  near  in  any 
part  of  the  latter  country,  and  the  inquisition  most  unre- 
lenting in  the  other. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  i6th  century  monarchy  was 
in  the  ascendant.  England,  France,  Spain  were  at  last  com- 
pletely consolidated — each  one  around  its  own  regal  centre; 
and  the  German  empire  was  stronger  than  it  had  been  since 
the  downfall  of  the  Hohenstaufen. 

The  civil  rulers  nc-  longer  admitted  that  they  were 
subordinate  to  the  Pope  in  temporal  things.  But  Leo  X. 
did  not  press  that  claim.  And  the  collision  into  which  he 
was  brought  with  some  of  them  was  not  for  supremacy,  but 
for  the  safety  of  Italy.  His  see  was  restored  to  strength, 
not  quite  of  the  same  kind  it  had  wielded  in  the  13th  cen- 
tury, but  of  a  kind  apparently  more  stable  and  peaceful. 
Maintaining,  as  he  did,  manageable  relations  with  the  great 
monarchs,  and  enjoying  a  perfect  agreement  with  them  on 
the  subject  of  religion,  why  should  the  murmurs  of  scatter- 
ing dissenters  be  a  cause  of  anxiety  ?  They  in  fact  occas- 
ioned none  to  the  gay  and  accomplished  Pope.  From  the 
Vatican  point  of  view,  the  prospect  was  a  flattering  one,  in 
the  early  years  of  Leo  X.  But  the  expenses  of  the  Papal 
court  were  great,  and  patronage  of  the  arts  liberal,  and  the 
work  upon  St.  Peter's  involved  an  enormous  additional 
outlay.  To  meet  these  demands  recourse  was  had,  among 
other  devices,  to  an  increased  activity  in  the  sale  of  indul- 
gences. The  method  of  farming  them  out  and  peddling 
them  over  the  country  was  pushed  to  a  degree  of  reckless- 
ness, which  was  the  more  offensive  as  in  the  face  of  a  greatly 
advanced  popular  intelligence. 

In  the  prosecution  of  that  traffic,  "  Germany  was 
divided  among  three  commissioners.  The  Elector  Albert 
of  Mayence,  who  was  also  archbishop  of  Magdeburg,  as- 
sumed the  chief  management  of  commission  for  his  own 
provinces."  Among  the  venders  of  indulgences  whom  he 
employed,  John  Tetzel,  a  Dominican  monk,  made  himself 


154 

notoriously  conspicuous.  The  condition  of  repentance  for 
the  sins  pardoned  he  ventured  to  omit.  Such  was  the 
virtue  of  his  indulgences,  that  they  of  themselves  effected 
pardon  of  the  sins  for  which  they  were  purchased.  It  is 
surprising  to  read  of  the  success  which  followed  him.  But 
there  were  multitudes  all  over  Germany,  who  were  shocked 
by  the  scandalous  practice. 

Martin  Luther,  an  Augustinian  monk,  and  professor 
and  preacher  at  Wittenberg  in  Electoral  Saxony,  who  had 
already  opposed  himself  to  certain  doctrinal  errors  of  the 
Romish  church,  was  moved  to  condemn  the  whole  system 
of  indulgences,  as  having  no  authority  from  the  Word  of 
God.  An  arduous  spiritual  experience,  and  careful  study 
of  Scripture  had  already  given  him  victory  over  many  of 
the  superstitions  of  his  time.  He  preached  against  indulg- 
ences, and  warned  his  people  about  them,  as  imposition 
upon  their  faith.  Tetzel  heard  of  it,  and  was  furious  against 
the  heretic.  Luther  was  not  a  man  to  be  intimidated,  or 
deterred  from  taking  the  most  effective  stand  for  the  truth 
which  he  believed.  On  the  31st  of  October,  the  eve  of  the 
feast  of  All  Saints,  in  the  year  15  17,  a  day  on  which  all 
who  should  attend  church  and  confess,  should  receive 
plenary  indulgence,  he  went  and  affixed  to  the  door  of  the 
great  church  of  Wittenberg  a  list  of  ninety-five  theses 
against  indulgences,  which  he  announced  himself  prepared 
to  defend  next  day  in  the  university  against  all  opposers. 
That  act  was  solely  his  own.  He  committed  no  person 
to  responsibility  for  it  but  himself  Going  forward  in  re- 
liance upon  divine  truth,  and  fearless  of  danger  in  so  doing, 
he  took  a  step  which  however  simple  in  itself,  became, 
from  the  existing  state  of  the  church,  and  of  the  world,  an 
era  in  general  history,  one  o.f  those  great  events  by  which 
we  mark  the  progress  of  mankind. 


155 


FOURTH    PERIOD.      15 17   TO    1870. 

When  from  A.  D.  15 17,  we  look  into  the  future,  it  is 
not  merely  a  new  stage  in  the  old  controversy  which 
appears ;  but  a  new  question  has  arisen,  a  new  party  has 
taken  the  field,  and  a  new  aim  is  held  up  before  the 
Christian  world.  That  new  aim  is  to  emancipate  the  Bible 
from  the  restraints  of  ecclesiasticism,  to  maintain  its  free- 
dom, and  its  right  to  be  regarded  as  the  only  rule  of  faith 
and  practice,  and  thereby  to  bring  christian  life  nearer  to 
God.  On  that  subject  professing  Christians  continue  to 
differ.  Men  of  the  world,  to  some  extent,  take  part  with 
one  side  or  the  other,  according  to  circumstances.  And 
the  whole  of  western  Christendom  is  divided. 

The  Reformation  was  not  the  work  of  a  man,  not  the 
fruit  of  a  single  act  of  daring.  It  was  one  of  the  steps  of 
progress  in  the  work  of  God,  which  had  been  going  on  in 
the  heart  of  the  people  for  three  hundred  years,  slowly 
strengthening  and  unfolding  itself,  in  the  midst  of  persistent 
opposition  from  both  ecclesiastical  and  civil  authorities, 
since  the  first  appearance  of  the  Cathari  or  Albigenses,  on 
the  plains  of  Southern  France.  It  assumed  its  place  as  a 
separate  interest  in  history,  when  it  could  no  longer  be 
suppressed.  Luther  was  one  of  the  men  whom  God  raises 
up  to  lead  in  such  a  crisis  ;  but  so  far  from  the  Reforma- 
tion being  created  by  him,  it  had  long  ago  been  proclaimed 
in  England,  and  though  there  suppressed,  was  silently 
biding  a  more  favorable  time;  it  had  already  run  a  course 
of  more  than  a  hundred  years  in  Bohemia,  and  opened 
simultaneously  its  career  in  Switzerland  and  France. 

The  bearing  of  this  new  period  is  the  progress  of  the 
Gospel  towards  perfect  freedom.  The  end  at  which  it  aims 
is  that  state  of  things,  in  which  a  freely  published  and 
preached  Gospel  shall  address  every  man  in  his  own  lan- 
guage. Far  from  being  completed,  the  warfare  is  still  going 
•on.     But  the   Reformation   crisis   was   that   in   which   the 


156 

Gospel  burst  the  fetters  of  Mediaeval  bondage,  and  stood 
forth  in  its  own  character  before  the  world,  with  a  power 
which  proved  successful  in  maintaining  itself.  Hencefor- 
ward the  history  of  western  Christianity  is  divided  into  dif- 
ferent channels  :  and  yet  there  are  certain  common  epochs, 
which  like  broad  bars,  run  across  them  all. 

The  first  of  those  epochs  occurs  in  the  year  1530,  when 
the  Theology  of  the  Reformation  first  received  a  systematic 
shape,  and  the  construction  and  conflict  of  confessions  began. 

The  next  occurs  in  and  about  1648,  when  all  the  great 
branches  of  the  church  had  completed  the  statement  of 
their  faith  ;  and  Protestant  nations  on  the  European  Conti- 
nent secured  the  recognition  of  their  independence. 

A  third  is  marked  by  the  outbreak  of  the  French  Rev- 
olution, a  movement  which  had  as  much  to  do  with  religion 
as  with  politics. 

And  a  fourth  may  perhaps  be  found  in  the  Vatican 
Council  of  1870,  and  the  downfall  of  the  temporal  power 
of  the  papacy. 

I.     1517— 1530. 
The  Reform.\tion  Crisis.     Reactionary  Papacy. 

Of  the  Reformation  the  fundamental  doctrine  was  jus- 
tification by  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  and  that  from 
which  it  revolted  was  justification  by  any  other  way  :  andl 
the  ground  on  which  the  Reformers  took  their  stand  was 
that  the  Scriptures  are  the  only  sufficient  rule  of  faith  and 
practice.  By  the  greatly  enlarged  publication  of  the  Scrip- 
tures many  persons  were  prepared  intelligently  to  take  that 
step,  as  soon  as  a  trusty  leader  appeared. 

The  period,  though  brief,  consists  of  different  stages. 

1.  Luther's  attack  upon  indulgences,  and  controversy 
on  that  topic,  as  a  faithful  subject  of  the  Pope,  conducted 
by  public  addresses,  epistles  and  oral  debates. 

2.  Denial  of  the  absolute  power  of  the  Pope,  leading, „ 
in  course  of  controversy,  to  discussion  of  the  whole  structure- 
of  the  Papacy,  issuing  in  Luther's  rejection  of  Papal  allegi- 
ance, and  appeal  to  a  general  council :  and  his  defence  at 
the  Diet  of  Worms. 


157 

3-  A  third  stage  was  marked  by  attempts  to  repress 
the  Reformation  by  action  of  civil  and  ecclesiastical  courts  ; 
and  on  the  side  of  the  Reformers,  to  defend  it  by  clear 
statements  of  faith,  as  sustained  by  Scripture,  and  by  care- 
ful instruction  of  the  public  in  the  nature  of  the  case,  issu- 
ing in  the  great  Diet  at  Augsburg  1530,  and  the  confession 
presented  there;  and  at  the  same  time,  the  publication  of 
the  confessions  drawn  up  by  Zwingle  and  Oecolampadius 
for  Switzerland ;  the  earliest  generally  accepted  confes- 
sions of  the  Protestant  churches. 

I.  In  1 5 16,  while  Luther  was  making  his  incipient 
attacks  upon  the  doctrine  of  justification  by  good  works, 
Ulrich  Zwingle,  at  Einsiedeln  in  Switzerland  was  preachino- 
against  the  worship  of  the  Virgin  Mary.  And  in  15  18  he 
dealt  with  Samson  the  vender  of  indulgences,  in  that  coun- 
try, as  Luther  with  Tetzel,  in  Germany.  In  France,  Bri- 
connet,  bishop  of  Meaux,  had  already  organized  a  reformed 
congregation  of  300  members.  But  Luther  was  peculiarly 
constituted  and  prepared  to  be  the  principal  leader  at  that 
Juncture.  Certain  external  circumstances  favored  him. 
Staupitz,  vicar  general  of  the  Augustinian  order  for  Ger- 
many, was  a  man  of  kindred  faith,  and  longer  Christian  ex- 
perience, and  was  to  Luther  an  invaluable  adviser.  Another 
staunch  friend  was  the  Elector  Frederic  of  Saxony,  whose 
subject  he  was.  Thus  encouraged  and  protected,  reforma- 
tion work  had  been  going  on  in  the  University  of  Witten- 
berg, under  Luther's  instructions,  before  the  attack  upon 
indulgences  made  him  known  to  the  general  public. 

Copies  of  the  Theses  against  indulgences  were  put  in 
•circulation,  and  rapidly  and  far  dispersed.  Luther  himself 
sent  one  to  the  Pope.  It  was  reasonable  to  think  that  Leo 
would  not  justify  such  abuse  of  his  own  divinely  conferred 
prerogative.  Multitudes  were  fully  prepared  to  welcome 
that  declaration.  What  it  expressed,  they  had  already  been 
thinking,  and  with  its  encouragement,  now  felt  free  to  say. 

Luther  went  on  with  his  work.  In  the  month  of  No- 
vember, he  defended  the  doctrine  of  the  Theses  in  a  Latin 
disputation  for  the  learned,  as  well  as  in  a  vernacular  dis- 
course, for  the  general  public.  Tetzel  responded.  And 
Prierias,  a  high  official  of  the  Papal  court,  sustained  the 
cause  of  indulgences,  on  the  ground   of  the   infallible  au- 


158 

thority  and  absolute  power  of  the  pope.  Luther,  in  reply, 
recognized  no  authority  as  infallible,  save  that  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures.  A  new  step  was  thus  taken  in  the  controversy. 
The  papacy  itself  was  assailed. 

2.  The  Dominican  monks  concerned  in  the  indulgence 
business  were  the  principal  parties  in  the  first  step.  The 
Papal  court  might  have  disowned  and  reproved  their  con- 
duct. But  on  the  contrary  it  assumed  the  whole  responsi- 
bility for  all  that  was  essential  in  the  evil  complained  of 

Luther  was  summoned  to  appear  in  Rome  August  7, 
15 18.  By  intercession  of  the  Elector  Frederic,  an  exam- 
ination at  Augsburg  was  substituted,  which  took  place  in 
October  of  the  same  year.  Luther  appeared  there.  Cajetan, 
the  Papal  Legate,  demanded  of  him  a  full  recantation, 
without  any  discussion.  To  that  he  refused  to  submit,  and 
appealed  to  the  Pope,  when  the  Pope  should  be  better  in- 
formed of  the  case.  But  on  the  9th  of  Nov.,  a  Papal  Bull 
was  issued  which  assumed  for  the  Pope  the  whole  respon- 
sibility for  indulgences.  Luther  condemned  by  the  Pope, 
appealed  to  a  general  council. 

SomiC  of  the  church  authorities  now  became  alarmed, 
and  attempted  to  stay  the  controversy.  Luther,  when  ap- 
pealed to,  promised  to  observe  silence  on  the  subject,  if  his 
adversaries  would  do  likewise.  He  also  wrote  to  the  Pope 
expressing  his  ecclesiastical  submission,  and  exalting  the 
Romish  see  above  all  except  Christ.  But  the  controversy 
could  not  stop.  Dr.  Eck  of  Ingoldstadt  continued  to  pur- 
sue it,  in  his  writings,  on  the  Papal  side.  Between  him 
and  Carlstadt,  one  of  Luther's  fellow  professors,  a  disputa- 
tion took  place  which  lasted  several  days,  before  a  large  as- 
sembly. By  action  of  his  opponents,  the  Reformer  was 
constrained  to  self-defence. 

It  was  now  that  Philip  Melancthon  entered  the  field 
with  his  treatise,  Defensio  contra  Eckiuni. 

A  Papal  Bull  was  iss.ued,  June  15,  1520,  condemning 
41  propositions  of  Luther's,  and  commanding  him  to 
confess  his  faults  within  sixty  days.  In  case  he  failed  to 
do  so,  excommunication  was  threatened,  and  any  magis- 
trate, who  could  lay  hold  upon  him  was  charged  to  arrest 
and  send  him  to  Rome.  He  replied  with  a  treatise  on 
christian   freedom.      In  July  he  published  his  appeal  to 


159 

the  German  nobles  to  enlist  them  in  the  cause  of  the  Re- 
formation. 

Seeing  that  now,  with  the  light  he  had  attained,  and 
the  attitude  he  had  been  constrained  to  assume,  he  could 
no  longer  acknowledge  allegiance  to  Rome,  he  resolved 
upon  a  public  declaration  to  that  effect.  Accordingly,  on 
the  loth  of  December,  1520,  after  notice  given,  he  publicly 
burned  the  Papal  Bull  issued  against  him,  and  with  it  the 
Canon  Law,  and  certain  Decretals  of  the  Popes.  This  was 
Luther's  Declaration  of  Independence,  which  he  also 
abundantly  maintained  with  his  pen. 

From  December  10,  1520,  the  Reformation  stands  by 
itself  a  separate  interest  in  the  church,  appealing  to  a 
general  council. 

3.  The  truths  proclaimed  by  the  Reformers  of  Saxony 
and  Switzerland  were  readily  recognized  where  the  good 
seed  had  been  sown  by  Wycliff  and  his  followers ;  and 
by  the  long  suffering  church  of  the  United  Brethren  in 
Moravia  and  Bohemia,  who  hailed  the  reformation  with 
rejoicing,  and  sent  a  delegation  to  Luther,  to  express 
their  fraternal  sympathy  and  approval.  They  had  sub- 
sequently frequent  interviews  with  him.  At  first,  they 
were  not  entirely  in  accord,  because  of  the  stricter  Bohe- 
mian discipline,  on  one  hand,  and  Luther's  severer  de- 
finition of  doctrine,  on  the  other.  In  a  few  years  that 
difficulty  was  removed,  and  in  1542,  Luther  gav'e  their 
delegates  his  hand  as  a  pledge  of  perpetual  friendship.  In 
England,  the  monarch  was  still  the  firm  defender  of  the 
Romish  faith  ;  but  the  executions  under  his  reign,  for  con- 
science sake,  were  enough  to  prove  that  among  his  people 
there  was  a  sympathy  with  the  evangelical  cause. 

An  important  element  in  the  course  of  events  is  the 
attitude  towards  the  Reformation  assumed  by  the  secular 
powers,  and  the  condition  in  which  they  then  were  to  favor 
or  resist  it.  The  emperor  Maximilian  died  in  January 
15 19,  and  in  July  of  the  same  year,  his  grandson  Charles  I. 
of  Spain  was  elected  to  succeed  him,  and  thereby  became 
Charles  V.  of  the  Empire. 

Accordingly,  in  the  year  1520,  when  Luther  threw 
off"  the  Papal  yoke,  the  civil  government  of  Europe  was 
chiefly  in  the  hands  of  four  men,  Henry  VIII.  of  England, 


160 

Francis  I.  of  France,  the  Sultan  Suleyman  and  Charles  V., 
who  now  held  a  larger  dominion  than  had  ever,  in  Europe, 
been  ruled  by  one  man,  Spain,  Naples,  and  other  parts  in 
Italy,  Sicily  and  other  important  islands  in  the  Mediter- 
ranean, the  Netherlands,  the  German  empire  with  which 
were  now  connected  the  kingdoms  of  Hungary  and  Bohe- 
mia, and  the  hereditary  estates  of  the  house  of  Hapsburg, 
and  all  the  lands  discovered  by  Spanish  navigators  and  ex- 
plorers on  both  continents  of  America  and  the  West  In- 
dies. The  eastern  portion  of  his  European  states  he  con- 
ceded to  his  brother  Ferdinand. 

All  three  of  the  Christian  monarchs  were  staunch  sup- 
porters of  the  Romish  Church,  and  within  their  respective 
dominions  prohibited  the  reformation  and  persecuted  its 
adherents,  Henry  VHI.  renewing  the  severities  against  the 
people  called  Lollards  of  England,  and  writing  against 
Luther,  Francis  I.,  by  his  concordat  with  the  pope,  and 
burning  of  Huguenots,  and  Charles  V.,  as  inheriting  the 
Spanish  championship  of  papal  Catholicism,  patronage  of 
the  worst  type  of  the  inquisition,  and  the  command  of  ar- 
mies which  were  the  propagandists  of  Romanism  over  the 
world. 

Outside  of  these  monarchies  to  the  east,  the  Ottoman 
Turks  had  reached  the  summit  of  their  success  under  the 
reign  of  Suleyman,  called  the  magnificent,  who  was  then 
on  the  throne.  Their  empire  bordered  on  that  of  Charles 
v.,  and  their  armies  more  than  once  penetrated  far  into  the 
countries  over  which  his  brother  ruled.  Although  they 
knew  it  not,  those  followers  of  the  false  Prophet  exerted 
no  little  influence  in  helping  forward  the  Christian  Reforma- 
tion. It  was  a  time  of  great  monarchs,  every  one  of  whom 
was  an  enemy  of  evangelical  religion,  and  on  several  occa- 
sions the  three  of  Christian  name  banded  themselves 
together  with  the  pope  to  destroy  it.  In  no  period  of  his- 
tory are  the  Providential  causes  which  defeated  an  over- 
whelmingly powerful  party,  and  protected  from  step  to 
step,  and  ultimately  gave  victory  to  the  feebler,  more  won- 
derful and  instructive.  The  compact  of  the  King  of  Eng- 
land and  the  Emperor,  the  treaties  of  the  Emperor,  the 
King  of  France  and  the  Pope,  the  ostentatious  convention 
on  the  Field  of  the  Cloth  of  Gold,  proved  to  be  only  bub- 


161 

bles   compared  with   the  simple  pen-work  of  two   or  three 
ministers  of  the  gospel. 

The  first  assembly  of  the  German  States,  after  the 
accession  of  Charles  V.,  was  summoned  to  meet  at  Worms, 
Jan.  6th,  1521.  It  actually  met  three  months  later,  attended 
by  an  unusual  number  of  princes  and  nobles,  lay  and  eccle- 
siastic, all  desirous  of  presenting  themselves  before  the 
young  emperor  in  a  style  as  impressive  as  they  could  com- 
mand. The  Diet  was  one  of  great  interest,  as  touching 
the  policy  of  the  new  government  in  general,  and  its  first 
sessions  were  occupied  with  civil  affairs,  but  the  question 
■of  most  importance  was  that  of  the  Reformation. 

Aleander,  the  Papal  legate,  called  upon  the  secular 
arm  to  execute  the  recent  Bull  of  excommunication  against 
Luther.  The  Diet,  at  the  instance  of  Frederick  of  Saxony, 
refused  to  proceed  against  him,  without  giving  him  a  hear- 
ing. On  receiving  a  pledge  of  protection  from  the  Em- 
peror, Luther  went  to  Worms:  and  on  the  17th  and  iSth 
of  April,  stood  before  the  Diet.  His  defence  on  that  occa- 
sion, conducted  with  great  learning  and  prudence,  had  a 
most  favorable  effect  upon  his  cause.  Yet  the  majority 
decided  against  him  ;  and  the  result  of  the  deliberations, 
as  far  as  he  was  concerned,  was  an  edict,  condemning  his 
doctrines,  and  ordering  the  civil  authorities  to  arrest  him, 
as  soon  as  the  time  of  his  safe  conduct  had  expired,  and 
bring  him  to  punishment.  It  also  enjoined  the  princes  of 
Germany  to  suppress  his  adherents,  and  confiscate  his  pro- 
perty. His  works  were  to  be  destroyed.  And  any  one 
acting  contrary  to  the  spirit  of  that  decree  was  to  be  laid 
under  ban  of  the  empire. 

4.  The  edict  of  Worms  was  issued  on  the  26th  of 
May.  But  Luther,  whom  it  ordered  to  be  arrested  as  soon 
as  he  arrived  at  Wittenberg,  did  not  succeed  in  reaching 
home,  on  that  occasion.  As  he  was  proceeding  on  his 
journey  through  a  lonely  place,  a  band  of  horsemen  armed 
set  upon  him,  overpowered  his  k\v  attendants,  seized  him. 
threw  over  his  monkish  costume  the  cloak  of  a  knight, 
constrained  him  to  mount  a  led  horse,  and  dashed 
off  with  him  into  the  depths  of  the  Thuringian  forest. 
For  ten  months  Luther  was  lost  to  the  eye  of  the  public. 
And  those   who   wished   his  death  learned   what  a  com- 


162 

motion  would  have  been  produced  had  the  sentence 
passed  upon  him  been  actually  executed.  He  was  con- 
cealed by  friends  in  the  castle  of  the  Wartburg,  and  spent 
his  time  in  study  and  writing.  There  the  greater  part, 
if  not  the  whole  of  his  translation  of  the  New  Testament 
was  made. 

Meanwhile  the  edict  was  not  put  in  execution  except 
under  the  rule  of  the  efector  of  Brandenburg,  the  duke 
of  Bavaria,  the  duke  of  Saxony,  and  of  some  ecclesiastical 
princes,  who  by  their  exceptional  severity  intensified  the 
interest  in  the  Reformation  cause.  The  emperor  was  pre- 
vented from  taking  any  part  in  it,  by  the  war,  in  which  he 
was  immediately  involved  with  France  ;  and  his  brother 
Ferdinand  was  entirely  occupied  with  the  cares  of  defence 
against  the  Turk. 

At  Wittenberg  under  the  leadership  of  Melancthon, 
the  structure  of  the  new  church  order  was  carried  forward. 
The  first  systematic  exposition  of  Lutheran  doctrine  was 
made  in  Melancthon's  "  Loci  coiiiviunes  Rernvi  TJieologica- 
rtim,"  published  during  Luther's  residence  in  the  Wartburg. 

But  a  party  arose  at  Wittenberg,  headed  by  Professor 
Bodenstein,  called  of  Carlstadt,  which  carried  the  new  lib- 
erty to  a  pernicious  extreme.  Disorders  were  created, 
which  the  mild  Melanchton  was  unable  to  reduce.  Unex- 
pected by  all,  Luther  again  appeared  among  them  (March 
1522).  By  his  prompt  regulative  power,  his  preaching  and 
personal  presence,  people  were  won  back  to  a  peaceable 
prosecution  of  church  work  in  the  orderly  unfolding  and 
practical  effect  of  the  Holy  Scriptures.  His  translation  of 
the  New  Testament  was  published  the  same  year.  Two 
years  afterwards  the  whole  Bible  was  presented  to  the  pub- 
lic in  the  German  language,  by  rendering  directly  from  the 
Greek  and  Hebrew. 

Disorders,  provoked  by  long  continued  oppression, 
and  conducted  by  injudicious  men,  broke  out  about  that 
time,  especially  an  insurrection  in  Southern  Germany,  cal- 
led the  Peasant's  war.  At  the  battle  of  Frankenhausen,  in 
1525,  its  strength  was  broken  by  an  overwhelming  Catholic 
force. 

From  1 52 1  to  1530,  the  Reformation  in  Germany  hav- 
ing assumed  a  separate  ground,  but  without  a  complete 


163 

statement  of  its  principles,  was  involved  in  controversies 
on  every  side.  It  still  looked  for  reconciliation  with  the 
Catholic  Church,  through  action  of  a  council.  And,  with  a 
view  to  that,  various  were  the  conventions  held  for  state- 
ment of  doctrines  and  of  grievances.  The  Emperor  Max- 
imilian had  drawn  up  a  list  of  ten  grounds  of  complaint  in 
Germany  against  Rome.  These,  afterwards  increased  to 
one  hundred,  were  presented  to  the  Diet  at  Worms,  and 
under  the  name  of  the  Centum  Gravamina,  went  to  justify 
the  cause  of  the  Reformation  with  many,  who  otherwise 
would  have  taken  no  interest  in  it. 

Leo  X.  died  on  the  ist  of  December.  1521,  and  was 
succeeded  by  Hadrian  VI.,  a  pious  man,  who  recognized 
the  existence  of  evils  in  the  church,  and  promised  to  remove 
them,  while  he  demanded  the  execution  of  the  Edict  against 
the  heresy  of  Luther.  He  died  Sept.  14,  1523.  Clement 
VII.  also  made  promise  of  satisfying  the  complaints  of 
Germany,  provided  the  Edict  was  put  in  execution.  A  Diet 
was  held  at  Nuremberg  in  1522-3  and  another  in  1524.  At 
the  first,  the  legate  of  Hadrian  made  that  demand,  at  the 
second  the  legate  of  Clement.  But  the  emperor,  in  the 
existing  condition  of  his  affairs  could  not  undertake  it,  and 
most  of  the  German  states  were  opposed  to  it. 

Frederick  the  Wise  died  May  5,  1525.  His  brother 
John,  a  sincere  Christian  and  friend  of  Luther,  came  into 
his  place,  and  consistently  sustained  the  cause.  Several 
important  additions  were  made  to  the  adherents  of  the  Re- 
formation about  that  date,  of  whom  the  most  important 
were  the  landgrave  of  Hesse,  and  Albert  of  Brandenburg, 
grand  master  of  the  Teutonic  Knights,  who  in  1525,  took 
his  place  as  duke  of  Prussia,  and  with  his  people  and  their 
bishops  joined  the  Reformation. 

Another  Diet  in  reference  to  the  subject  was  held  at 
Dessau  in  July,  1525,  where  the  purpose  of  the  Romanists 
appeared  so  threatening  that  the  Reforming  princes  and 
states  entered  into  a  league  for  their  common  defence.  It 
was  formed  at  Torgau  in  May  following.  The  war  between 
France  and  Spain  had  ended  in  the  defeat  of  the  former, 
and  capture  of  Francis  I.  at  the  battle  of  Pavia,  1525.  In 
the  treaty,  whereby  he  was  liberated,  hostility  to  the  Refor- 
mation was  one  of  the  conditions.     That  treaty  was   made 


164 

January,  1526.  The  league  of  Torgau  was  only  a  prudent 
precaution.  Yet  ere  it  had  occasion  to  operate,  Providence 
interposed  in  a  more  effective  manner.  A  new  war  arose 
in  which  Francis  I.  and  the  Italian  nobles,  with  the  Pope 
at  their  head,  arrayed  themselves  against  the  Emperor  in 
the  Holy  League  of  Cognac,  formed  May  22,  1526.  An 
invasion  of  the  Turks  alarmed  the  Empire  and  Hungary  on 
the  east,  where  the  disastrous  battle  of  Mohacs  was  fought, 
and  Louis,  king  of  Hungary  and  Bohemia,  was  slain, 
August  29,  1526.  In  May  of  next  year,  an  imperial  army 
took  Rome  by  storm,  and  for  severai  months  the  Pope  was 
a  prisoner,  in  the  hands  of  Charles  V. 

Protection  was  thus,  for  about  three  years,  afforded  to 
the  reformers,  without  any  extraordinary  effort  on  their 
part.  They  availed  themselves  of  the  favorable  opportu- 
nity to  put  into  fitting  order  the  ecclesiastical  institutions 
of  their  respective  countries.  Leaders  in  that  work  were 
Philip,  landgrave  of  Hesse,  and  the  elector  John  of  Sax- 
ony. The  schools  were  put  in  a  state  of  efficiency,  and 
the  University  of  Wittenberg  was  at  the  height  of  its  pros- 
perity.    That  of  Marburg,  in  Hesse,  was  founded  in  1527. 

By  1529  the  Reformation  was  already  established  in 
several  states  of  Germany.  A  Diet,  which  met  in  Spires 
in  that  year,  ordered  that  the  Edict  of  Worms  should  be 
enforced,  wherever  the  Reformation  was  not  sanctioned  by 
law.  Against  that  act  six  princes  and  fourteen  cities  pre- 
sented a  protest,  April  19th,  1529.  Hence  the  name  Pro- 
testant came  to  be  applied  to  all  who  agreed  in  carrying 
forward  the  reformation  then  in  hand. 

The  emperor,  again  successful  in  war,  concluded  a 
treaty  with  the  Pope  at  Barcelona,  June  29,  1529,  and  with 
France,  the  Peace  of  Cambray,  August  5,  of  the  same 
year  ;  and  in  February  following  was  crowned  emperor, 
and  king  of  Lombardy.  He  had  summoned  a  Diet  to 
meet  at  Augsburg,  in  which  the  religious  dissensions  of 
Germany  were  to  be  finally  disposed  of.  Protestants  felt 
that  they  must  be  prepared  with  a  complete,  precise  and 
summary  statement  of  their  doctrines.  In  compliance 
with  that  exigency,  the  articles  of  Torgau  were  drawn  up 
by  Luther,  Melancthon,  Jonas  and  Bugenhagen.  Attempts 
were  made  to  unite  the  Lutheran   with  the    Reformed  of 


165   ■ 

Switzerland  in  confession  of  doctrine,  which  proved  inef- 
fectul,  chiefly  from  difference  of  belief  touching  the  Lord's 
Supper. 

The  elector  of  Saxony  took  with  him  to  Augsburg 
Melancthon  and  three  other  eminent  theologians.  Luther 
could  not  safely  leave  the  protection  of  Saxony.  While 
waiting  at  Augsburg  for  the  arrival  of  the  emperor,. 
Melancthon  made  good  use  of  the  time,  in  composing  a 
more  complete  confession,  which  was  the  one  read  before 
the  Diet,  on  the  25th  of  June,  1530.  A  confutation  was 
prepared  by  Dr.  Eck,  and  read  on  the  3rd  of  August.  An 
apology  for  the  confession  in  reply  to  Eck  was  written  by 
Melancthon,  and  subsequently,  published.  A  committee 
was  appointed  to  negotiate  a  reconciliation  between  the 
parties.     But  nothing  came  of  it. 

Four  free  cities,  Constance,  Strasburg,  Memmingen 
and  Lindau,  presented  a  separate  confession,  which  was 
called  the  Tetrapolitan.  The  Reformed  of  Switzerland  had 
also  a  confession  prepared  for  that  occasion,  but  as  they 
did  not  belong  to  the  Empire,  it  was  not  called  for. 

The  final  decree  of  the  Diet  granted  to  Protestants 
until  April  15,  1531.  for  consideration,  and  threatened  vio- 
lence, if  they  did  not  submit  by  that  time. 

5.  In  Switzerland  the  progress  of  Reformation  was 
more  rapid  than  in  German)',  but  completeness  of  (ioctrinal 
statement  was  not  attained  so  soon.  In  Bdsil  the  sen- 
timent produced  by  the  general  council  seems  to  have 
retained  its  hold  upon  some  leading  minds,  through  the 
rest  of  the  15th  century.  In  the  first  years  of  the  i6th  we 
find  some  of  the  professors  and  students  in  the  University 
earnestly  enlisted  in  the  cause  of  ecclesiastical  reform^ 
among  whom  Thomas  Wyttenbach  was  distinguished  as 
early  as  1505.  Capito,  Hedio,  Erasmus,  and  others  of  like 
spirit,  were  students,  teachers  or  residents  there  prior  to 
15  17.  Their  attitude,  in  those  days,  was  the  preliminary 
one,  in  which  men  expected  the  church  to  reform  itself  by 
means  of  its  own  authorities,  and  was  comparatively  safe. 
Some  of  them  never  went  further. 

From  Wyttenbach,  Ulrich  Zwingle  received  his  first 
theological  direction.  Ten  years  of  a  quiet  pastorate  in  the 
heart  of  the  Alps,  at  Glarus,  during  which  time  he  made 
himself  well    acquainted  with   the  Greek   New  Testament, 


166 

wrought  full  conviction  in  his  heart  that  the  Scriptures  are 
the  sole  and  sufficient  standard  of  religion.  In  15 16,  he  was 
induced  to  reside  as  priest  and  preacher  at  Einsiedeln, 
where  he  began  to  encounter  some  of  the  prevailing  errors. 
Einsiedeln  was  the  seat  of  a  favorite  shrine  of  the  Virgin 
Mary.  Multitudes  of  pilgrims  flocked  there  to  pay  their 
devotions.  Zwingle  was  moved  with  compassion  for  them, 
and  preached  against  the  popular  delusion.  Christ,  he  told 
them,  alone  can  save  from  sin  ;  and  his  atonement  satisfies 
for  all  believers  in  all  places  alike.  In  15 18  he  opposed 
the  sale  of  indulgences  in  Switzerland,  and  had  the  satis- 
faction of  seeing  that  abuse  withdrawn.  The  same  year  he 
was  elected  preacher  in  the  great  church  of  Zurich  where  in 
order  to  promote  the  knowledge  of  Scripture  among  the 
people,  he  adopted  the  method  of  explaining  certain  books 
of  the  New  Testament  in  regular  course.  The  method 
proved  attractive,  and  large  congregations  attended  his 
preaching.  The  excitement  about  Luther  at  that  date, 
caused  Zwingle  to  be  also  suspected  of  heresy.  He  did 
not,  however,  enter  the  polemical  arena  of  the  Reformation 
until  1522,  when  his  treatise  on  the  obligation  of  fasting  ap- 
peared. By  that  time,  several  other  Swiss  preachers  were 
pursuing  a  similar  course.  In  May  of  that  year,  the  Bishop 
of  Constance  issued  a  pastoral  letter  to  warn  all  against  in- 
novation ;  and  the  Diet  of  Lucerne  forbade  preaching  likely 
to  produce  disquiet.  A  brisk  controversy  ensued,  but 
lasted  only  a  few  years  before  Zurich  and  several  other  can- 
tons took  their  stand  clearly  and  fully  for  the  Reformation, 
as  taught  by  their  own  preachers.  A  conference  between 
the  reformers  and  the  Romish  theologians  was  invited  by 
the  council  of  Zurich,  and  took  place  in  January  1523.  On 
that  occasion,  the  council  was  so  well  pleased  with  Zwingle's 
defence  of  the  doctrines  he  preached,  that  they  charged  him 
to  persevere  in  his  course,  and  recommended  their  other 
preachers  to  follow  his  example.  All  excesses  were  wisely 
held  in  check,  and  the  work  progressed  quietly,  but  steadily. 
One  after  another,  all  objects  and  usages  of  superstition  dis- 
appeared ;  "  the  monasteries  were  suppressed,  and  changed 
into  schools  and  almshouses."  The  change  in  public  wor- 
ship was  completed  by  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
in  its  original  simplicity,  on  the  13th  of  April,  1525,  in  the 
great  minster  of  Zurich. 


167 

Meanwhile  several  other  cantons  were  pursuing  a 
similar  course,  at  one  stage  and  another,  and  some  were 
hesitating.  A  disputation  held  at  Berne  in  January  1528, 
decided  the  government  of  that  canton  to  accept  the  Re- 
formation ;  and  other  cantons,  which  had  been  wavering, 
followed  that  example. 

The  confederation  was  forthwith  divided,  the  northern 
and  western  cantons  being  chiefly  Protestant,  and  those  on 
the  eastern  and  southern  side  remaining  attached  to  the 
Catholic  religion.  Each  group  sought  their  respective  al- 
liances, the  latter  with  Austria,  and  the  former  with  Stras- 
burg  and  Hesse,  carrying  the  Reformed  alliance  down  the 
Rhine.  At  that  juncture  occurred  the  Diet  of  Augsburg. 
Zwingle  was  not  present  at  that  assembly,  but  prepared 
about  the  same  time  his  Ratio  Fidei,  for  the  emperor,  and 
his  Expositio  Fidei  Christianae,  for  the  king  of  France. 
And  CEcolampadius,  who  was  present,  drew  up  that  con- 
fession, which  although  not  read  before  the  Diet,  was  after- 
ward the  basis  of  the  first  Basil  Confession. 

The  chief  point  of  difference  between  the  Saxon  and 
Helvetic  Reformers  was  in  the  doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per. Luther  taught  that  the  real  body  of  Christ  is  present 
with  the  Sacramental  bread,  but  does  not  take  its  place. 
Zwingle  denied  that  to  be  the  meaning  of  Scripture,  and 
interpreted  the  Lord's  words  as  instituting  a  memorial  or- 
dinance, in  which  his  people,  in  partaking  of  bread  and 
wine,  should  apprehend  his  body  and  his  blood,  which  those 
signify,  as  actually  broken  and  shed  for  them,  and  thereby 
receive  through  faith,  the  real  blessing  of  the  Lord's  Sacri- 
fice. 

The  Tetrapolitan  Reformers,  of  whom  the  leading 
mind  was  Martin  Bucer,  stood  on  a  different  ground  from 
both,  and  mediate  between  the  two,  but  nearer  to  the 
Lutheran  side,  to  which  they,  not  long  afterwards,  passed 
over,  by  the  Wittenberg  Concord  of  1:5  36. 

In  the  year  succeeding  the  Diet  of  Augsburg  the 
Catholic  cantons  of  Switzerland  made  war  on  Zurich,  and 
a  battle  was  fought  at  Cappel,  October  ii,  1531,  in  which 
the  forces  of  Zurich  were  defeated,  and  Zwingle,  who  had 
gone  out  to  attend  to  the  wounded  and  dying,  was  slain. 


168 

The  death  of  Q^colampadius  followed  soon  after,  Nov.  23, 
of  the  same  year. 

Among  the  men  of  that  time  the  most  singly  and 
directly  Scriptural,  and  the  most  fully  emancipated  thereby 
from  long  prevailing  superstition,  was  Ulrich  Zwingle. 

II.      1530 — 1648. 
Confessions  and  Religious  Wars. 

From  the  date  of  the  Confession  of  Augsburg,  until 
the  Peace  of  VVestphalia,  the  history  of  the  church  in 
Germany  consists  of  three  periods  :  one,  in  which  the 
parties  labored  in  attempts  to  convince  each  other,  or  so 
to  frame  a  creed  that  they  might  agree  upon  it;  the  second 
was  a  period  of  compromise,  commencing  with  the  Re- 
ligious Peace  of  Augsburg,  in  1555,  and  extending  to 
161 8  ;  and  the  third,  beginning  with  the  latter  date,  was 
one  of  open  war,  which  did  not  come  to  an  end,  until 
after  the  lapse  of  thirty  years. 

In  view  of  the  final  decree  of  Augsburg,  the  Protest-  , 
ants  of  Germany,  having  no  intention  to  submit,  began  to 
prepare  for  the  encounter  of  force.  The  league  of  Smal- 
cald  was  formed  March  29,  1531,  and  soon  afterwards 
strengthened  by  alliance  with  Bavaria,  and  with  the  king 
of  France,  both  of  whom  entered  into  that  relation  for 
political  reasons.  More  cordial  was  the  alliance  with  Den- 
mark. Next  year,  (July  23,  1532,)  the  Religious  Peace  of 
Nuremberg  provided  that  religious  matters  should  remain 
as  they  were  until  settled  by  a  council  or  a  new  diet. 

The  Augsburg  confession  proclaimed  the  doctrines  of 
the  Lutheran  church,  and  prepared  the  way  for  large 
addition  to  the  number  of  its  adherents.  It  became  a 
standard  of  Lutheran  doctrine,  and  gave  union  and  har- 
mony to  the  whole  Lutheran  Reformation  ;  but  it  also 
determined  the  difference  between  that  communion  and 
the  Reformed  ;  the  latter  name  being  applied  to  all  who, 
in  various  countries,  coincided  with  the  views  of  the  Swiss 
Reformers. 

From  the  two  centres,  thus  constituted  in  electoral 
Saxony  and   western  Switzerland,   the   influences  of    Re- 


169 

formation  spread  rapidly  in  all  directions.  The  Saxon 
form  of  doctrine  was  soon  accepted  in  central  and  northern 
Germany,  in  Denmark,  Sweden  and  Norway,  harmonized 
with  the  Bohemian  and  Moravian  Brethren,  and  gained 
considerable  numbers  in  Hungary.  Some  of  the  German 
States  down  the  Rhine  from  Basil  and  following  that  line 
northward  between  the  centre  of  Germany  and  the  Nether- 
lands, as  far  as  the  German  sea,  accepted  the  Reformed 
doctrine.  Such  also  became  the  creed  of  Protestants  in 
the  Netherlands,  in  France,  in  England,  in  Scotland,  and 
of  the  Magyar  population  in  Hungary. 

Though  differing  on  some  few  points  of  doctrine  and 
practice,  these  two  grand  divisions  of  the  Protestant  con- 
nection supported  each  other  in  their  common  defence 
against  violence. 

The  severity  which  Charles  V.,  never  felt  himself  in 
condition  to  exercise  upon  the  Protestants  of  Germany,  he 
exemplified  in  his  hereditary  estates  in  the  Netherlands. 
There  had  arisen  the  school  of  Gerard,  and  there  had 
flourished  the  evangelical  agencies  which  proceeded  from 
it.  John  Wessel  of  Grimingen  anticipated  almost  every 
doctrine  afterward  defended  by  Luther.  That  he  died  in 
peace,  1489,  was  due  to  the  protection  of  the  pious  bishop 
of  Utrecht,  who  also  ought  himself  to  be  named  among 
the  forerunners  o(  the  Reformation.  At  first  Lutheranism 
was  accepted,  but  soon  exchanged  for  the  Reformed 
doctrine,  which  has  retained  its  ground.  In  the  Nether- 
lands was  the  first  blood  shed  for  the  cause,  in  the  martyr- 
dom of  Henry  Voes  and  John  Esch  at  Brussels,  July  i, 
1523.  From  that  date  persecution  continued  in  those 
provinces  through  all  the  reign  of  Charles  V.,  and  with 
more  terrible  infatuation  under  his  successor  Philip  II. 

Between  1532  and  1538,  the  Protestant  cause  was 
greatly  strengthened  by  the  accession  of  Wiirtemberg,  of 
Pomerania,  of  the  Count  Palatine,  the  Princes  of  Anhalt, 
William  of  Nassau,  and  many  free  cities,  as  well  as  the 
kingdoms  of  Denmark  (1536)  and  Norway,  (1537).  Mean- 
while urgent  and  repeated  demands  had  been  made  for  the 
calling  of  the  general  council,  to  which  Protestants  had  ap- 
pealed, and  which  was  expected  by  many  to  bring  about  a 
satisfactory  settlement  of  all  differences.     The  Popes  had 


170 

deferred  that  action,  until  the  work,  which  it  might  have 
done  in  the  beginning,  was  no  longer  practicable;  and  until 
the  Protestants  no  longer  took  much  interest  in  it.  Clem- 
ent VII.  died  in  1534.  His  successor  Paul  III.  issued  a 
Bull  convoking  the  council  at  Mantua.  With  a  view  to  it, 
Luther  drew  up  a  statement  of  doctrines  which  was  ac- 
cepted by  the  Protestant  League  at  Smalcald,  in  February, 
1537.  It  is  known  as  the  Smalcald  articles.  The  council 
did  not  meet. 

July  10,  1538,  the  Holy  League  was  formed  at  Nurem- 
berg, for  the  purpose  of  sustaining  the  Imperial  authorities 
in  carrying  the  Edict  of  Augsburg  into  execution.  War 
between  the  two  parties  seemed  to  be  inevitable.  But  at 
this  juncture  the  Turk  again  threatened  the  eastern  borders 
of  the  empire.  Peace  must  be  kept  with  the  Protestants 
some  time  longer.  Imperial  negotiations  with  them,  at 
Frankfort  on  the  Main  1539,  resulted  in  suspending  all 
proceedings  against  them  for  eighteen  months. 

After  the  termination  of  the  Frankfort  suspension,  va- 
rious other  diets  and  conferences  were  held  to  settle  the 
differences  of  opinion ;  but  without  effect.  The  urgently 
demanded  council  at  last  assembled  at  Trent,  Dec.  13,  1545. 
At  this  juncture,  Luther  died  at  Eisleben,  the  place  of  his 
birth,  Feb.  16,  1546.  Very  soon  it  became  plain  that  the 
council  would  not  answer  the  end  for  which  it  was  called, 
that  its  purpose  was  not  to  conciliate  but  to  condemn  the 
Protestants.  The  Emperor  opened  a  conference  at  Ratisbon, 
Jan.  27,  1546.  That  also  failed.  And  feeling  now  in  con- 
dition to  apply  force,  he  undertook  to  make  a  reformation 
on  his  own  terms,  which  Protestants  were  to  be  constrained 
to  accept.  They  resisted ;  but  their  confederation,  called 
the  Smalcald  League,  conducted  the  war  feebly,  and  was 
constrained  to  submit.  At  a  Diet  opened  by  the  Emperor 
at  Augsburg  Sept  1547,  a  compromise  between  the  Catho- 
lic and  Protestant  religions  was  agreed  upon,  as  an  Interim^ 
or  temporary  measure,  until  the  action  of  a  proper  council 
could  be  obtained.  Though  accepted  by  some  of  the  Prot- 
estant princes,  by  the  states  and  populations  generally  it 
was  condemned.  But  military  force  imposed  it.  In  a  few  ' 
months,  pure  Protestantism  was  suppressed  in  Germany. 
The  city  of  Magdeburg  alone  maintained  it. 


171 

That  success  of  the  Imperial  arms  was  brought  to  a 
sudden  termination.  Maurice  of  Saxony  who  a  few  years 
before  had  deserted  the  Protestant  league,  to  join  the  em- 
peror, and  was  trusted  with  command  of  a  large  force,  be- 
coming disgusted  with  the  service  in  which  he  was  employed, 
and  indignant  at  the  imperial  despotism,  suddenly  turned 
from  Magdeburg,  which  he  had  been  sent  to  reduce,  and 
directed  his  arms  against  his  master.  Charles  lay  sick  at 
Innspruck,  and  learned  of  his  danger  only  in  time  to  escape 
capture  by  a  rapid  flight.  He  was  constrained  (Aug.  2d, 
1552)  to  sign  a  treaty  granting  freedom  of  religion  to  the 
Protestant  States,  until  a  new  council  could  be  convened. 
Maurice  also  secured  the  co-operation  of  the  King  of  France 
who  prosecuted  the  war  by  invading  the  emperor's  posses- 
sions in  the  Netherlands.  It  was  at  some  sacrifice  that 
Charles  secured  a  not  dishonorable  peace  with  his  enemies 
on  all  sides.  The  act  of  settlement  for  Germany  was  con- 
cluded at  the  Diet  of  Augsburg,  September  25,  1555,  in 
granting  to  the  Protestant  religion,  without  limitation  of 
time,  a  recognized  place,  and  to  the  German  states  freedom 
of  choice  between  the  two  religions.  One  month  later, 
Charles  V.  abdicated  the  throne  of  the  Netherlands,  and 
a  few  weeks  afterward  that  of  Spain  with  all  its  depen- 
dencies, in  favor  of  his  son  Philip.  The  crown  of  the 
empire  he  retained  six  months  longer.  But  when  he  had 
transferred  all  his  claims  of  allegiance  from  Germany  to 
his  brother  Ferdinand,  the  greatest  monarch  of  his  age 
withdrew  from  public  life,  and  sunk  himself  in  a  monastery. 
Although  courtesy,  as  long  as  he  lived,  still  made  use  of 
his  august  name,  he  never  again  appeared  in  the  world. 

2.  Freedom  of  religious  profession  was  allowed,  by 
the  Peace  of  Augsburg,  only  to  governments.  The  people 
were  expected  to  follow  the  religion  selected  for  them  by 
their  rulers,  although  they  were  free  to  remove  to  a  state 
where  that  of  their  choice  was  established.  It  was  further 
fettered  by  a  stipulation  that  every  prince  prelate,  passing 
over  to  the  cause  of  Protestantism,  should  lose,  with  his 
ecclesiastical  prerogatives,  also  his  temporal  power  and 
dominion.  But  for  this  ecclesiastical  reservation,  it  is 
thought  that  almost  all  Germany  would  have  become  Pro- 
testant.    The  emperors   Ferdinand  I.   and   Maximilian  II. 


172 

respected  the  peace,  and  made  honorable  efforts  to  hold 
the  balance  fairly  between  the  two  parties.  .  And  additions 
were  made  to  the  number  of  Protestant  states. 

After  the  death  of  Luther,  the  divisions  of  opinion, 
which  had  existed  before,  among  the  theologians  of  his 
connection  greatly  increased.  Melancthon  had  modified 
their  theology  on  some  points,  such  as  the  agency  of  man 
in  conversion,  and  the  Lord's  Supper.  In  the  former, 
though  he  denied  all  merit  to  man,  yet  he  held  to  a  certain 
co-operation  of  human  free  will ;  and  respecting  the  latter 
he  took  a  middle  ground  between  the  Calvinistic  and 
Lutheran.  The  University  of  Wittenberg  adopted  his 
views.  Subsequently  that  of  Jena  was  founded  in  the 
interest  of  strict  Lutheranism.  Various  other  differences 
arose,  which  distracted  theological  opinion,  for  several 
years.  At  last  a  convention  met  at  Bergen,  near  Magde- 
burg, 1577,  and  agreed  upon  a  form  of  Concord,  {^Formula 
Coiicordiiv)  which  constitutes  the  final  symbol  of  the  Luth- 
eran church. 

It  was  in  the  beginning  of  this  period  that  a  new  enemy 
of  the  Protestant  cause  began  to  make  itself  felt  in  the 
controversy.  The  Jesuit  order  received  Papal  sanction  in 
1540,  and  in  1556  Ignatius  Loyola  died,  after  having  com- 
pleted his  system,  and  seen  it  fully  established  in  practice. 
Loyola  was  a  Spanish  soldier,  who  being  disabled  for 
military  service  by  wounds,  turned  his  attention  to  the  con- 
struction of  a  new  monastic  order  for  the  specific  purpose 
of  defending  the  Papal  cause.  His  plans  were  gradually 
matured  by  the  thinking  of  many  years  and  assistance  of 
colleagues,  among  whom  the  first  were  Peter  Faber  and 
Francis  Xavier. 

The  methods  by  which  the  order,  calling  itself  the 
society  of  Jesus,  sought  to  obtain  power,  was  by  popular 
preaching,  by  obtaining  the  place  of  confessors  to  Princes 
and  persons  of  high  rank  and  standing  in  royal  courts,  by 
controlling  the  education  of  the  young,  and  establishing 
missions  in  heathen  countries.  The  vows  of  professed 
Jesuits  were  those  of  chastity,  poverty,  and  obedience  to 
their  superior.  They  were  not  under  obligation  of  seclusion 
from  the  world,  to  practice  the  ordinary  penances  and  mac- 
erations of  the  body.     Xot  for  asceticism,  but  for  work  was 


173 

the  order  constituted.  The  selection  of  their  men  was 
•careful,  their  education  strict,  and  their  probation  searching. 
Their  government  recognized  successive  ranks  of  subor- 
dination, and  superiors,  with  mutual  espionage,  and  the 
supreme  authority  was  vested  in  a  general,  elected  by  the 
professed  members,  and  who  served  for  life.  They  denied 
that  the  Roman  church  had  ever  fallen  into  error,  and  the 
enemy  upon  whom  their  war  was  meant  to  be  exterminating 
was  the  Reformation. 

In  proportion  as  the  new  order  increased  in  Germany, 
so  did  Catholic  violations  of  the  Religious  Peace.  First 
they  succeeded  in  suppressing  Protestantism  in  Bavaria, 
and  then  in  winning  other  states  back  to  the  Catholic  con- 
nection. The  Emperor  Rudolph  II.  (i 576-161 2)  sustained 
the  re-action  with  all  the  weight  of  his  authority,  and  in 
some  cases  with  force.  As  the  power  of  choosing  the  state 
religion  belonged  only  to  the  rulers,  little  regard  was  paid 
to  the  wishes  of  the  people.  Success  emboldened  aggres- 
sion. Threats  of  entire  suppression  of  the  Protestant  cause 
began  to  be  heard,  and  in  some  places  measures  were 
actually  taken  successfully  to  that  end. 

A  change  had  also  taken  place  in  the  tone  of  the 
Catholic  church,  as  well  as  of  the  Papacy,  respecting  the 
reformation  needed  within  their  bounds.  The  council  which 
met  at  Trent,  Dec.  1545,  the  Protestants  perceived  from  the 
first  was  to  be  a  mere  Papal  agency,  and  declined  taking 
any  part  in  it.  The  Pope  in  1547  removed  it  to  Bologna, 
and  soon  afterward  caused  it  to  be  adjourned.  In  Nov. 
1549,  Paul  III.  died.  Julius  III.,  at  the  instance  of  Charles 
v.,  reopened  the  council,  May  ist,  155  i,  but  closed  it  in 
April  1552.  After  his  death  in  155s,  Marcellus  reigned 
only  23  days  ;  and  was  followed  by  Paul  IV.,  who,  havino- 
been  long  at  the  head  of  the  inqusition  in  Rome,  entered 
upon  his  pontificate  in  the  spirit  of  stern  hostility  to  all 
measures  of  reform,  and  with  a  determination  to  carry  to 
the  utmost  possible  extreme  the  temporal  and  spiritual 
supremacy  of  the  Papal  office.  During  all  his  reign  (1555- 
1559)  the  council  was  not  called.  By  the  next  Pope* Pius 
IV.,  it  was  re-assembled  January  18,  1562,  and  was  more 
numerously  attended  than  before,  but  its  acts  were  of  less 
importance;  and  neither  then  nor  before  did  it  effect  any- 


174 

thing  to  meet  the  demand  which  had  first  brought  it 
together.  It  however  clearly  defined  the  position  of  Roman- 
ism as  over  against  that  of  the  Protestants  ;  and  made 
manifest  the  fact  that  reconciliation  was  impracticable.  It 
was  finally  dissolved  on  the  4th  of  December,  1563.  In 
all,  its  sessions  had  covered  about  four  years  and  seven 
months.  Indulgences,  and  all  the  doctrines  out  of  which 
they  spring,  and  by  which  they  are  justified,  were  fully  sus- 
tained by  the  council,  and  the  practice  of  dispensing  them 
defended,  while  the  recklessness  which  had  brought  the 
sale  of  them  into  disrepute  was  censured.  They  were  to  be 
dispensed,  not  for  gain,  but  for  piety.  The  works  of  the 
council  of  Trent  appear  in  the  form  of  canons,  and  a  cate- 
chism for  the  instruction  of  priests.  And  after  its  final  ad- 
journment, Pius  IV.  issued  a  profession  of  faith,  in  which 
he  summed  up  the  results  of  what  it  had  done,  and  added 
to  the  Nicene  creed  a  series  of  articles,  which  he  pronounced 
part  of  the  true  and  Catholic  faith,  out  of  which  no  one  can 
be  saved. 

From  the  close  of  the  council  of  Trent,  the  demand  for 
reform  in  the  Romish  church  fell  into  disrepute,  and  the 
reaction  against  it  continued  to  gain  strength,  until  the 
very  name  of  reformation  was  held  equivalent  to  heresy. 
For  that  change  the  Catholic  church  is  indebted  chiefly  to 
the  Council  of  Trent,  and  the  Jesuit  Order,  which  at  the 
death  of  its  founder  in  1556,  consisted  of  one  thousand  ac- 
tive agents,  and  one  hundred  religious  houses,  divided  into 
twelve  provinces,  reaching  to  the  East  Indies,  on  one  side, 
and  to  Brazil  on  the  other.  It  soon  became  a  mighty  en- 
gine, no  less  powerful  among  the  politics  of  princes,  than  in 
the  propaganda  of  Romanism. 

Within  the  same  period,  the  different  churches  of  the 
Reformed  connection  on  the  continent  had  also  matured 
their  doctrinal  symbols. 

In  1535  and  1536,  Geneva,  sustained  by  the  canton  of 
Berne  succeeded  in  wresting  her  independence  from  her 
Bishop  and  the  Duke  of  Savoy,  and  in  uniting  with  the 
Protestant  confederation  of  Switzerland.  The  French  re- 
former William  Farel  had  begun  to  preach  there  in  1532. 
Driven  away  by  violence,  he  returned  next  year  assisted  by 
Peter  Viret.     In  1536  he  was  joined  by  Calvin,  who  had 


175 

already  published  the  first  edition  of  his  Institutes  of  The- 
ology. For  the  strictness  of  their  discipline  they  were  all 
banished  from  the  city.  Farel  subsequently  labored  in 
Neuchatel,  and  Viret  in  Lausanne,  and  elsewhere,  both 
itinerants  in  France  and  Switzerland  to  the  end  of  their 
days.  Calvin  was  recalled  to  Geneva  in  1541  by  the  urgent 
entreaty  of  the  people,  with  the  promise  that  they  would 
accept  the  religious  government  which  he  proposed.  Under 
the  regulations  thus  established,  Geneva  became  the  head 
of  the  Helvetic  Reformation,  and  the  Seminary  of  Reformed 
doctrine.  After  the  death  of  Calvin,  May  27,  1564,  that  re- 
putation and  standing  was  maintained  by  Beza  and  other 
eminent  scholars  and  divines. 

In  France  the  Reformed,  under  severe  repression  and 
sometimes  the  most  cruel  persecution,  continued  to  increase 
in  number;  and  in  1559  drew  up  their  confession  consistent 
with  the  doctrines  taught  in  Geneva.  Their  cause  was 
sustained  by  the  Prince  of  Conde,  the  Admiral  Coligny, 
and  the  Queen  of  Navarre,  and  later,  by  her  daughter, 
and  then  by  her  grandson,  Henry,  King  of  Navarre.  At 
the  head  of  the  Catholic  party  stood  the  ducal  house 
of  Loraine,  and  the  royal  family  of  France,  led  by  the 
policy  of  Catherine  de  Medici,  wife  of  Henry  II.,  and 
mother  of  the  three  next  successive  Kings.  After  long  con- 
tinued war,  the  marriage  of  the  young  King  of  Navarre  and 
the  sister  of  King  Charles  IX.,  was  negotiated  as  a  means  of 
securing  peace.  Great  numbers  of  Protestants  assembled 
in  Paris  to  honor  the  nuptials  of  their  leader.  According 
to  arrangements  previously  concerted,  chiefly  by  the  Queen 
Mother,  they  were  attacked  on  the  night  of  the  24th  of 
August,  1572,  and  murdered  to  the  number  of  many 
thousands.  The  orders  were  extended  to  the  provinces, 
where  they  were  also  obeyed.  But  so  far  from  being  ex- 
terminated, the  Reformed  of  France  rallied  around  the 
King  of  Navarre,  and  when  in  1589  he  succeeded  to  the 
national  throne,  carried  him,  over  Catholic  opposition,  in 
victory  to  the  gates  of  Paris.  At  that  point,  in  hope  of 
uniting  the  two  parties  he  deserted  the  faith  of  his  friends 
by  professing  that  of  their  enemies.  He  granted,  however, 
to  Protestants,  equal  rights  with  Catholics,  by  the  edict  of 
Nantes,  1598.     His  own  family  were  subjected  to  Romish 


176 

education,  and  the  real  liberties  of  Protestants  did  not  long 
survive  his  death,  which  occurred  by  assassination  in  i6io. 

Among  the  Reformed  of  the  Netherlands  persecution, 
begun  in  the  execution  of  the  first  martyrs  of  Brussels  in 
1523,  was  continijed  with  varying  severity  through  all  the 
reign  of  Charles  V.,  and  under  his  successor  Philip  II., 
intensified  to  a  degree  which  was  equally  inhuman  and 
insane,  resulting  in  the  reduction  to  poverty  of  a  once 
wealthy  dependency,  and  the  complete  alienation  of  a  great 
part  of  it  from  the  throne  of  Spain.  In  1579,  the  southern 
provinces  submitted.  But  the  northern  declared  their 
independence,  and  maintained  their  reformed  religion.  In 
1 561  the  Belgic  confession  was  composed,  presenting  the 
same  type  of  doctrine  as  that  of  Geneva.  On  that  Platform 
the  Republicans  of  the  United  Netherlands  defended  them- 
selves against  the  forces  of  Spain,  and  after  a  long  war, 
wrested  from  their  enemy  the  peace  of  1609.  Then  rose 
the  controversy  with  Arminianism,  leading  to  the  Synod 
of  Dort  in  161 8.  Again  the  Provinces  were  involved  in  a 
war  with  Spain,  beginning  from  162 1,  in  the  course  of 
which  they  were  brought  into  relations  with  the  Protestants 
of  Germany,  in  the  thirty  years  war. 

Among  German  Protestants  several  princes  and  states 
passed  over  from  Lutheranism  to  the  Reformed  com- 
munion, such  as  the  Duchy  of  Lippe,  Hesse  Cassel,  and 
the  Hanse  city  of  Bremen.  But  of  all  German  Reformed 
States  most  eminent  was  the  Palatinate,  which  made'  the 
change  under  the  Elector  Frederick  III.  in  1560.  Three 
years  afterwards,  under  the  same  Prince,  the  Heidelberg 
catechism  was  published,  which  soon  became  the  common 
standard  of  doctrine  for  the  churches  of  that  connection, 
and  of  Holland. 

A  sense  of  the  danger  to  which  they  were  exposed  by 
the  machinations  of  Jesuits,  and  the  spirit  of  persecution 
which  was  exhibiting  itself  more  and  more  extensively,  led 
the  Protestant  states  of  Germany  to  enter  into  another 
league  for  their  mutual  defence.  Thus  was  formed 
the  Evangelical  Union,  at  Ahausen,  in  May,  1608.  An 
opposing  Catholic  league  was  constituted  in  July  of  the 
next  year,  at  Munich.  At  the  head  of  the  former  was  the 
elector  Frederick  V.  of  the  Palatinate,  and  of  the  latter, 
Maximilian  of  Bavaria. 


177 

In  Bohemia  the  Reformers  were  the  most  numerous 
part  of  the  population.  But  the  Reh'gious  l*eace  was  of 
little  benefit  to  them,  because  they  were  subjects  of  a 
Catholic  German  Prince,  and  dependent  upon  his  strictness 
or  liberality.  Upon  the  death  of  the  Emperor  Matthias, 
who  had  been  their  King,  the  Bohemians  resisted  his  suc- 
cessor on  the  Imperial  throne,  Ferdinand  II.,  as  being  an 
intolerant  Catholic,  and  offered  their  crown  to  Frederick 
v.,  electoral  Prince  of  the  Palatinate,  and  son-in-law  of 
James  I.  of  England.  Ferdinand  pursued  his  claim  by 
war,  and  was  supported  by  Spain  and  the  Catholic  league. 
Bohemia  and  the  Palatinate,  driven  to  self-defence,  looked 
for  support  from  the  Evangelical  Union,  and  from  England. 
Thus  opened  in  i6i8  a  war  which,  though  sometimes  inter- 
rupted for  a  brief  space,  was  not  brought  to  a  close  until 
after  the  lapse  of  thirty  years,  and  in  the  prosecution  of 
which  some  of  the  finest  portions  of  Germany  were  trodden 
into  desolation. 

3.  The  aid  expected  by  the  Elector  from  England 
proved  so  feeble  as  to  be  deceitful.  The  cause  of  Ferdinand 
was  victorious  (1620).  Protestant  worship  was  abolished 
in  Bohemia.  The  same  fate  befell  Austria.  The  lands  of 
the  Palatinate  were  seized  by  Spain  and  Maximilian  of 
Bavaria.  The  Evangelical  Union  was  dissolved,  and  the 
first  act  of  the  war  terminated  in  the  re  establishment  of 
the  Catholic  religion  everywhere  by  force. 

In  1625,  an  attempt  was  made  by  the  Protestants  of 
lower  Saxony,  under  command  of  Christian  IV.,  King  of 
Denmark,  to  resist  that  oppression.  It  also  issued  in  de- 
feat, before  the  imperial  forces  under  Tilly  and  Wallenstein. 
A  treaty  was  concluded  at  Lubeck,  May  12,  1629.  The 
suspended  Edict  was  put  in  execution,  and  nothing  less 
was  contemplated  than  extermination  of  the  Protestant 
cause. 

But  the  completeness  of  imperial  success  brought 
about  its  overthrow.  Such  a  preponderance  of  the  Aus- 
trian-Spanish power  kindled  the  jealousy,  if  not  the  reason- 
able fears  of  France.  The  Italian  princes,  including  the 
Pope,  from  various  motives  of  local  politics,  sympathized 
with  France.  An  alliance  was  accordingly  formed  by  those 
powers  together  with  Sweden  for  the  purpose  of  pursuing 


178 

the  war  more  vigorously,  to  put  a  check  upon  the  danger- 
ously overbalancing  weight  of  the  Hapsburg  dynasty.  The 
new  campaign  opened  June  24,  1630.  in  the  arrival  of 
Gustavus  Adolphus,  King  of  Sweden,  as  commander  of 
the  allied  armies  in  Germany.  By  his  prudence  and  en- 
ergy he  inspired  the  minds  of  Protestants  with  new  hopes, 
which  were  fully  sustained  by  his  military  success.  On  the 
7th  of  September,  163 1,  he  fought  a  great  battle,  in  which 
he  defeated  Count  Tilly,  at  Leipsic,  and  cleared  his  way 
into  the  south  of  Germany.  Early  next  year,  he  again 
defeated  the  imperial  forces,  at  the  passage  of  the  Lech, 
where  Count  Tilly  was  slain.  Continuing  his  victorious 
march  southward  he  penetrated  to  the  Tyrol,  breaking,  as 
he  advanced,  the  fetters,  which  the  emperor  had  been  so 
industriously  riveting  upon  his  Protestant  subjects.  In  an- 
other battle  at  Llitzen,  Nov.  6,  1632,  he  defeated  the 
forces  of  Wallenstein.  By  these  victories  he  removed  the 
oppression  which  rested  upon  most  of  the  German  states, 
thereby  enlarging  his  own  resources,  as  he  weakened  those 
of  his  enemy.  And,  although  he  fell  in  the  midst  of  vic- 
tory, at  Liitzen,  the  change  he  had  effected  upon  the  rela- 
tive state  of  the  belligerents  gave  an  advantage  to  the  cause 
he  defended  which  was  retained  to  the  end.  His  policy 
was  pursued  by  the  Swedish  Minister  Oxenstiern,  and  the 
Swedish  Generals  Banier  and  Torstensen,  and  the  Prince  of 
Saxe-Weimar  wrested  repeated  victory  from  the  imperialist 
forces;  while  Spain,  already  reduced  by  her  losses  in  the 
Netherlands,  was  humiliated  by  the  victories  of  the  French 
Generals  Conde,  Turenne  and  others.  It  was  a  long  con- 
flict,  in  which  the  reverses  were  not  all  on  one  side,  but 
which  issued  in  such  decided  advantage  to  the  Protestant 
cause  as  to  constrain  the  Austrian-Spanish  enemy  to  come 
to  reasonable  terms.  The  Thirty  years  war  closed  in  the 
Peace  of  Westphalia,  by  the  treaties  of  August  and  Octo- 
ber, 1648. 

Sweden  and  some  other  Protestant  states  made  a  gain 
of  territory,  and  only  in  Bavaria  were  the  Catholics  allowed 
to  retain  all  the  advantages  they  had  conquered  in  the 
early  part  of  the  war  ;  and  the  terrible  oppression  of  Bohe- 
mia could  not  be  be  undone;  but  the  principal  gain  was  in 
the  establishment  of  equality  between  Catholic  and  Protes- 


179 

tant  states,  in  all  affairs  of  empire.  As  Holland  had  been 
one  of  the  members  of  the  alliance,  the  conditions  of  the 
treaty  extended  to  both  branches  of  the  Protestant  connec- 
tion. 

Among  the  Confessions  called  forth  during  this  long 
period  of  cc-nflict  the  most  important  are,  for  the  Lutheran 
Church  :  Luther's  two  Catechisms,  Longer  and  Shorter, 
the  Augsburg  Confession,  the  Apology  for  the  Confession, 
the  Smalcald  Articles  and  the  Form  of  Concord  ;  for  the 
Reformed  :  the  Second.  Basil  Confession,  or  First  Helve- 
tic, Calvin's  Institutes,  though  not  a  confession,  yet  having 
much  to  do  with  all  the  Reformed  confessions  which  suc- 
ceeded. Consensus  Tigurinus,  by  which  German  Switzer- 
land accepted  Calvin's  doctrine  of  the  Lord's  Supper,  the 
Second  Helvetic  Confession,  the  Heidelberg  Catechism,  the 
Gallic  Confession,  the  Belgic  Confession,  and  the  Confes- 
sion and  Canons  of  Dort.  And  by  the  same  date,  the  Eng- 
lish Church  Articles  had  received  their  final  form,  and  the 
work  of  the  Westminster  Assembly  was  complete. 


I 


